Our Hearts of Fire
by HnS-Ryouichi
Summary: The Fifth Shinobi World War devastates the continent as dark forces prepare to control everything. Against the legions, there is only one hope. The Uzumaki clan lives on, and is all that stands between salvation and annihilation. Epic Alternate Universe.
1. A New Beginning

**The Will of Fire**

**CodeKyuubi:** Yo, what's up guys! Yeah, sorry for not updating in a while. For those of you who don't take a look at my profile (Which I update every once in a while, mind you), I'm at college now. I specifically spent my time writing this story because it's been around for so long. It's essentially an extremely long story that I felt that I had to get out and write down. Unlike stories like Black Lightning, Precious Person, and Tsuchi no Kuni (All of which I'll get around to updating eventually), The Will of Fire has already been planned through and through for years. Those three stories, on the other hand, are written on impulse with only a vague ending in mind. Not so for this one.

**Ryouichi:** I'm here to replace Benney as the new alternate of CodeKyuubi. Really, please don't be mad at me for writing _another_ new story. It's actually my first story with _major_ changes, because the original just wouldn't work for others. So, I've taken the basic outline of my story and changed it heavily to still convey the same things but in a different order and with the cutting out of certain people. As the story moves on, the changes will become less and less as the ending of my story is one that has been shaped through years of daydreaming and I am satisfied with it.

**CodeKyuubi:** For all intents and purposes, the main form of currency in this story, ryou, will be paper bills instead of coins as it is in real life. Also for all intents and purposes, Blue-eye/blue-eye, any variations of blue and eye, are nicknames for said guy with a blue eye.

**Ryouichi:** Sorry if there are mistakes... It's been a while since I last wrote and I was going crazy trying to keep everything under tabs (I completely rewrote the chapter once), fixing errors, and rereading it multiple times until my brain went poof. I'd like to thank my friend blakkblaze for her efforts in helping me with the story, and Blu Rose, who I still have to ask whether I can use one of her characters in this "AUBer", or Uber AU. The rating will be subject to change pending content of future chapters. Enjoy.

_Disclaimer: I own all of Honoo and for now, the two unknown variables from another world. Canon and Crossover characters come circa Chapter 2._

* * *

Honoogakure no Sato was outnumbered almost twenty-to-one.

From a bird's eye view, anyone could see the futility of resistance. A few hundred shinobi and fifteen-thousand conscripts against two-hundred thousand daemons. Beings of pure evil and no will of their own, daemons are fundamentally different from demons who possess varying levels of intelligence in that along with being mindless, they are also spawned from hell. Currently, the daemons had halted their advance a mere two miles away from the walls of Honoo.

Resistance was futile...

... Or that would have been so if the village in question weren't Honoo in particular.

She stepped forward onto the village's east wall, hair as white as snow blowing with the wind.

"You're not getting past me alive, you sons of bitches."

"You mean 'You're not getting past _us _alive', right?" asked a male voice mirthfully, the owner of the voice appearing at her side.

"No, you're worthless."

"Only to you."

"This banter is amusing and all, but it is time to get down to business," said a man on the opposite side of the wall, in front of all of the daemons. Just moments earlier, they had all stopped with a wave of his hand. His long, fiery red hair fell down a little past his shoulders and he wore a black tabard with six red wings stitched into its front; three on either side symmetrically. "Business that involves the death of everyone within those walls."

She scoffed, "Big words for such a small man. Bite me."

"You may want to choose your words carefully, Uzumaki," the redhead replied icily. He reached out into the air and from the nothingness came a sword which fell into his right hand. "Fine then. Let me test your _resolve_."

He disappeared in a flash and was behind them in less than half a second. In that time, she had already drawn her katana and was ready.

He swung. She swung.

Their blades met in a flash of steel and resounding metal.

"You underestimate the Uzumaki. You underestimate _me_. That is a _mistake_."

"I do not make mistakes, girl," he hissed. "You are _nothing_ compared to the man at your side."

"Is that so? Then why didn't you kill me just now?" she mocked.

"Uzumaki Kizuna, I will kill you, I promise that on my cursed life."

"Bring it!"

And so the fight of legend began, though she would never realize that the war for humanity had only just begun. The legend of Uzumaki continues further, but one must start at the beginning to understand how everything came to be...

--

In Honoo did a girl – or as she would insist, a young _woman_ – live. Her name is Uzumaki Kizuna and, in the midmorning, she was still asleep. Like vines, her body was entangled by her bedsheets. An alarm began to blare loudly – an antique clock with bells and a ringer – which finally brought forth a response from the sleeping female. Groaning, Kizuna's eyes cracked open, her irises dull and seemingly lifeless. Through the window, the brightly shining sun blanketed her with its bright light, coercing yet another groan as she used her right arm to attempt to shield her eyes from its brilliance. She turned to slam her palm onto the ringer, but found nothing. At the sound of her hand meeting the bedside table, she focused her eyes as confusion set in. Where was the clock? Lifting her head a few inches, Kizuna found the missing item in question on the other side of the room.

She moaned in displeasure and lay back into the warmth of her sheets. She attempted to drown out the noise of the alarm by placing her pillow over her head. The alarm continued ringing. And ringing. And ringing... She could still hear it ringing obnoxiously.

Throwing the pillow away angrily, Kizuna made her way out of the mess that was her bed, traveled in large, stomping steps to the clock, and turned off the alarm with a smash of her fist. As the temporary boost of anger-supplied energy disappeared, she found herself teetering on the balls of her feet. Sleep began to overtake her even as she stood there. Long ago made a bodily routine, Kizuna's half-asleep body moved slowly on its own accord to the bathroom. It was as if she was in a daze. One moment she had turned off the alarm, and the next moment her eyes had blasted open. Her face was wet with freezing water.

"... What was I doing?" she wondered blankly.

With full consciousness returning, she could hear the ambient noise from outside of her apartment. People milling around, going on chores, exercising, taking in fresh air, and other various morning activities. The hustle and bustle of Honoo really was something... if only she could soundproof her walls at an affordable price, she'd then be able to sleep through any unwanted visitors and unexpected loud noises. Returning her attention – still a little sleepy – to the task in front of her, Kizuna cringed when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Shadows under her ocean-blue eyes, her oily (for now) bone-white hair sticking out at angles that didn't seem possible, and worst of all, fatigue clearly showed on her face.

Groaning for the third time since waking up just a few minutes ago, Kizuna set about to make herself appear presentable.

A quick shower with plenty of strawberry-scented shampoo was enough to get most of the oil out of her long hair, followed by conditioner. She could have used a small Katon jutsu to speed up the hair drying, but she didn't want to risk setting her head alight. Kizuna preferred her hair long and unburnt. In the end, she left her hair about three-quarters dry after recalling that she had to be somewhere... Soon! The sprint to the meeting place would dry the rest out anyway.

Her choice of clothing was simple; a plain white t-shirt and a navy-blue pleated skirt. Today, she would be meeting with her best friends, who, having planned for this specific Saturday morning, were going to hang out together all day. None of them had missions and so would be free for the entirety of the day. The reason that they were getting together was to celebrate her seventeenth birthday. It had been Kizuna's more fervent wish for them to all spend some quality time together, so that was to be their present to her.

Dashing out of her medium-sized, well-kept apartment, she took a running jump off the metal railing. Kizuna fell down about three stories and landed safely after applying chakra to the soles of her sandals to soften her fall. She made for the bridge that they were supposed to meet at, a certain bridge that lay under the branches of sakura trees...

--

He gazed out across the scorched and ruined landscape without so much as recognition. Yes, he had grown up here, but the "here" was no longer what he considered his home. In such an age and place, there was nothing left to lose. Nothing left to cry for. Everything worth dying for had disappeared many centuries ago, even as he still walked the world as a mortal. For years, decades, and centuries, he had been filled with anger, sadness, and regret at his failures and inability to protect his world, his home, his family. There were very few survivors left, and of these, he was one of a handful who were able to fight back. His single steel-blue eye flaring, he stood up from his seat on a mountain which had eight faces carved into it. How many centuries ago had it been since the glory days had ended, when he had first received near-immortality? Back when the Rokudaime still ruled, he figured, and damned well long enough to know that he had never been happy or satisfied with his long life. Many times he'd wished for death, only to realize that he couldn't die... not yet. Not until his mission was accomplished. He wouldn't allow himself to die until he'd finished what he'd started so long ago.

The ruins of what was once his home lay beneath him at the foot of the mountain, a once great shinobi village reduced to rubble. The people of this world had long since been slaughtered. What few that still remained hid in their little holes, and even fewer fought alongside him. He could still remember... He could never forget the feeling of pure, unfiltered fear that he'd felt the first time his eyes had met the gaze of his enemy. He allowed himself a small chuckle. Back then, it seemed perfectly reasonable to be afraid of a few daemons. It was the same now, except that he was no longer afraid. He had fought the daemons for centuries after their arrival. They now roamed the land as an army over one-hundred-thousand strong and out for the blood of the survivors. As powerful as he and his comrades were, even they had their limits. He sighed after reminiscing. He picked up his twin katana as he stood up and strapped them securely onto his equipment belt.

As an afterthought, he adjusted the headband that he wore over his right eye. Ever since the time he'd lost his best friend, he'd sworn to never defile his friend's memory by not using his right eye. It didn't belong to him... and yet it had integrated with him, took on the same blue shade of his real eye. It was for that reason why he hated that eye. He hated the eye which was a reminder of his first loss... the loss that had started a chain reaction to many other losses which had devastated him. Hated it because it had become _his own_ and not that of his friend.

The ground began to tremble and he knew that he wouldn't have the time to dawdle in grief forever.

They were coming for him.

Over five-thousand of the black-skinned daemons were scrambling up the mountain on all sides; Up the mountain path, through the treacherous rocky slopes, and the sheer cliff wall. They intended to surround him to prevent his escape. Fortunately, he wouldn't be around when they finally got to the top. Allowing himself another show of emotion in a dark time – a small smile – he spread his feet, concentrating his chakra into a large blue aura. His hands blurred with the speed at which he was performing hand seals, and his small smile grew bigger. He'd outwit them; they wouldn't get him, not for a long time. He would leave this world for another. It was a dangerous jutsu, one that not even the legendary Uchiha Madara would have risked performing. The chance of success was ten percent, a risk that no normal human being would take. _However_, he wasn't normal, and he _definitely_ wasn't human anymore either. He would succeed, as would his companions. The daemons would eventually find them and follow them to whatever world they'd be escaping to, but it would take time to search for them... Time that could be used to recuperate, regroup, and prepare.

His steel-blue eye carried a fierce determination that had carried him through life and made him who he was. He owed that trait to someone very important to him. And for that person, he would return to this world and stand victorious. He would restore this world he had once called home, into an entity even greater than it had been at its peak. His lips quirked up into a smirk as the first of the daemons appeared around him. Releasing guttural, unearthly roars of bestiality, they leapt into the air at him, claws extended, fully intent on stopping what he was trying to do. They were too slow though, and all they met was thin air. He was gone; no longer there. Through telepathy, they would also find that the other targets had disappeared in the same way. A malevolent growl from a being of ages past made every single daemon scatter, frantically searching for clues about where their prey had disappeared to.

The source from which that growl had come from was not at all pleased. It was a very powerful being, its six arms denoting its rank of a Division General of the ranks of the daemon realm. In the language of its enemies, its rank was called a shidanchou. It snorted in annoyance at the disappearance of the rebels, though it made no difference in the end. Its leader would find the renegades soon. The Jigoku no Tentei, as they would call him in their language, did not take well to those who opposed his rule of not just this world, but the universe, and would wipe them off the face of whatever planet they took refuge on.

Yes, the Lord of Hell would find them and send them into oblivion, that much was assured.

--

Kizuna could see her friends lounging around on the bridge, leaning against the railings or standing on the large stream that passed underneath and playing with the fish. It didn't take long for them to notice her – they were shinobi, after all – and a blue-haired person in particular began waving madly for her. Grinning widely, she sprinted along the last stretch stone and cement road. Just two meters from the bridge, a loud exploding noise sounded in the vicinity and a heavy weight landed on her back not more than a few milliseconds after the noise. The laws of force taking effect, her face quickly met with the cold, hard stone floor, making a distinct cracking noise as her forehead made impact.

"!"

Her friends, shocked at what they'd just seen, rushed forward. Something had landed on her, but she couldn't do much more than to stay on the floor because she didn't have enough strength to break free from the heavy weight that was on top of her upper back. She couldn't do _anything_, really, as her head had suffered a minor concussion from the blow with the floor, causing a short spell of dizziness and disorientation. In the end, Kizuna contented herself to her cold, stony fate – no pun intended – with her face being crushed into the stony floor. This special day was _not_ beginning well.

"Hey, who the hell are you?!" a deep yet youthfully boyish voice sounded out in a shout. Kizuna recognized him by voice. Kensuke approached rather quickly, his short, spiky hair bending back from the air pressure as he ran. The weight on her shifted somewhat, and before she could ponder why, Kensuke was flying backwards, and would have kept going until he fell into the small river if Ryouichi hadn't stepped in to stop the flying man. "Thanks Ryo," he breathed, rather frustrated at his inability to do anything regarding the thing on top of a very close friend.

Daiken Kensuke has shocking navy-blue hair, while his eyes are a deep amber color. Just about a head taller than Kizuna and buff to boot, he is what every male wanted to be like and what every female wanted in a man. A successful Jounin at the age of nineteen, he wields swords, like his name suggests. Uchiha Ryouichi, on the other hand, is the prodigy of his clan, a Chuunin at the age of nine and now a Jounin-cum-ANBU Taichou at the age of sixteen. His eyes are onyx and his hair is raven-colored like every other Uchiha, past and present. Like Kensuke, his hair is spiky. Not a sticking-out spiky, but a drooping-down spiky. His lips are pursed into a frown of displeasure at the moment, glaring at whatever was on-

'_**-MY GOD DAMNED BACK!**_' Kizuna roared mentally.

"Relax," a voice said when she'd begun to ball her hands into fists. "I'm only sitting on top of you because I'm assessing the threat of the situation."

"Funny, that wouldn't be happening if you'd gotten off my back some time ago," Kizuna snarled, reaching the breaking point. "Get off!"

"As you wish, _Hime_-sama," he drawled in his deep voice. What had been a title of deference had been twisted by the tone of his voice to be condescending, and she did _not_ like it one bit. She did not like his tone at all, and she wasn't liking neither how the day was starting nor the throbbing pain she was now experiencing in her forehead.

As the weight left her body, she jumped up and whirled around... but he was already gone, turning a corner and exiting the line of sight.

"What the hell?" was all she could muster at the moment. "What the _hell_?!"

A blonde helped her over the bridge – the bastard might have bent her back out of shape – and into the shade of a sakura tree. Her name is Uzumaki Kimiko, a distant – third – cousin. Her cerulean-blue eyes sparkled in humor at the endless griping escaping the mouth of her white-haired cousin. Kimiko's hair was straight and fell down her back, stopping just above the waist. There weren't many boys in Honoo that didn't have a crush on her at one point or another... but then again, any pretty girl was subject to being liked by guys. Kizuna was no exception.

"Are you alright, itoko?" she questioned gently, an apologetic smile present on her face. "Sorry for not being able to do anything."

"I'm alright enough to want to give that bastard a piece of my mind," growled Kizuna, folding her arms across her chest. "Who the hell does he think he is?" she complained. "Sitting on my back and then insulting me..."

Kimiko shrugged, since she had the same amount of info as Kizuna did and that amounted to zero.

"That sure ruined the mood," Kensuke coughed as he straightened himself up. "Whoever the hell he is, the next time I see him, I'm going for his baby maker."

"Don't let him get you before you can," Ryouichi replied, trying to hide his laugh.

"Bastard!" The blue-haired Jounin whirled around. "Just because you were too pussy to take him on, you think you're better than me?" he demanded. "Huh?!"

"... I'm ANBU," the Uchiha reminded his companion. "I _am_ better than you."

"Oh, yeah... Damn."

Kizuna frowned. There they went again. They were as close as brothers, yet were always fighting. Sibling rivalry was what Kimiko had once tried to explain it with. It had made sense at the time, but she could never find any evidence of actual rivalry, just the throwing of insults back and forth. Her frown slowly transformed into a pout as the argument that had started up again continued on. She had half a mind to knock them both out and celebrate her birthday without either of them, but that meant cutting down the fun-factor by half. She had a difficult choice: Wait for them to finish or intervene. Intervening would make her the prime target for both, and waiting could take upwards of an hour. What to do...

--

"So..."

Blue-eye shot a glare to his smirking companion.

"That was purely coincidence."

"I didn't say it wasn't, so why are you defending yourself?"

"You know as well as I do that you enjoy watching me suffer embarrassment, and I assumed you would use that situation against me."

"That... is true."

Hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, the owner of the steel-blue eye of another world slouched through the marketplace. One positive thing about the unfortunate accident that he'd _landed _in on was that he'd gotten a glance at their hitai-ate, though he didn't recognize it. At first, he'd mistaken the engraved symbol for that of Konoha, until he realized that it was a a spiral instead of a leaf. He'd have to scout out the landmass that they were on, he realized dreadfully. Great, _more _work. Fortunately, this world seemed peaceful, and overly so, which discomforted him. The shinobi he had met were lounging around doing nothing... preposterous! Well... he'd been like that before, so he couldn't really blame them. They were in the peak of their youth, if their bodies gave an accurate indication of their ages, and since the world _was_ (So far) peaceful, he supposed they had every reason to be so relaxed. He'd probably been fighting so long that he'd forgotten how to genuinely relax...

"You're pretty lucky that you ended up in the same place as I did."

"What do you mean with the 'me ending up in _your_ place'?" asked blue-eye quietly. "Didn't we all perform the jutsu at the same time? Logically, we both ended up at this place at the same moment, so neither of us got here first."

"Who says travel through space and time is logical and fair? I got here long before you did, enough for me to see how _you _landed in on this world."

"... Teme."

"I thought so," his companion's soft but masculine voice gloated, sounding smug. "Score for me."

"I doubt you'd ever really _score_," he countered sharply, but with a grin and an elbow into his friend's side.

"Screw you."

"I presume the others are out of wireless range?"

"Well that explains why it's been silent," the soft voice cried out in mock surprise, adding a sarcastic tone to the final word of the sentence. "We don't even know how large this world is. For all we know, the rest of them could be stuck in some frozen tundra and freezing to death."

"You and I both know that they can all use some form of Katon jutsu to keep them warm or create hot springs if that were true."

"Why do you always have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"You always have to find some way to try and prove me wrong, though you may not always be successful."

"Old habits die hard, friend."

"What's our next course of action?"

"We should set up base here."

"So... housing? That should be easy enough, assuming they use the same currency we used to use."

"We can only hope," blue-eye muttered. "If anything, we can just use fake currency."

"So once we establish a base of operations, then what? How are we supposed to contact the others?"

"Let's leave that part until later. We'll find a way."

"... Probably."

"Until we do, we should stay low and blend in. We could even join the shinobi force of this village... maybe... possibly... I'm not so sure anymore. We _could _get to and edit a lot of information and profiles to get ourselves in there."

"Che, too much trouble. I'll be fine as a civilian."

"Your death wish." Blue-eye shrugged. "Me, I'd go crazy without _some_ action. It'll keep my senses sharp and if I succeed, I'll blend in even further... You know how shinobi have their little quirks."

"... Of course, baka, we have quirks too. More than others."

"Ah, the consequences of long life."

Damn, this marketplace was large, he noted. They were still walking through the marketplace even after their semi-lengthy conversation. With his superior vision, blue-eye also noted that this village used the same currency as they had used in their home world; the ryou. It was somewhat reassuring that they wouldn't need to go through the trouble of counterfeiting money. He'd have to inspect this world's ryou further before they actually made use of their own stock, because while the design might be the same, the residents of this village may be using an altered version of their own world's ryou (A signature in a corner, perhaps).

'_The people of this village are certainly relaxed,_' he thought to himself for the umpteenth time. He could even _see_ this village's ANBU walking around visibly on the rooftops on patrol. While it could work to reassure the normal citizens that they were always being watched over, it made things worse in the event that an enemy shinobi was mixed into the crowd. '_Even though there might not be war and that it's peaceful, that doesn't rule out the fact that there are probably other shinobi villages out there, and that they wouldn't just sit there doing nothing._' He _did_ take into consideration that there might not be other shinobi villages, but he doubted it. Competition, superiority, and pride came with the presence of shinobi, and more shinobi villages would rise regardless of whether there was only one in the beginning or not.

So maybe the people of the village were just naïve. That explanation would have to work for now, until he got a better understanding of the village's situation.

"Well for now, let's split up and find ourselves places to live," blue-eye spoke up.

"Right then, I'll go make an inspection of the ryou here and see if we need to alter ours while you go find a place to live, since I already found one on my way to you."

Blue-eye muttered something about time and space spiting him in favor of his friend, with a lot of parts being incoherent, but nodded his agreement.

"Alright, time to go. See ya later."

"See you."

"Oh, by the way!"

"What is it?"

"You should keep an eye on that girl you landed on. Shinobi don't believe in coincidence, and that you should _happen _to appear _on _her is suspicious, especially so when you consider how large this village is. Other than that hunch, I didn't really feel anything strange about her chakra, so we can probably rule out that she's a jinchuuriki... Probably."

"Mm, sure. I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh yeah, and change your clothes. You might have been wearing your hood, but her friends will recognize your clothing if they're decent shinobi."

"Thanks for the heads-up."

With that, the two walked in opposite directions, with blue-eye walking towards the end of the marketplace and into the residential area, while his companion walked back towards the hub of the marketplace, where it would be a lot easier to inspect ryou without much suspicion amongst a large crowd with a lot of money changing hands.

--

Kizuna sighed. With her white hair and pale, creamy complexion, she had nowhere to be placed in the category of humans except as an albino. She liked being very unique, but not so much that she got stares everywhere she went, even from acquaintances who _still_ couldn't get used to her ghostly appearance. She'd never known her parents, and Kizuna always wondered if her physical traits came from her parents or just as a mutation of traits as doctors had explained. In the world of shinobi, it wasn't too unnatural to see strange and unusual hair colors such as violet, green, blue, et cetera... yet having _white_ hair was deemed unnatural.

Note: From this point on, Kizuna will be classified as an albino and called such.

And yet, none of this _really_ mattered. Not being albino or that she was still receiving those looks right that instant. There was one thing that stayed on her mind and latched there, not to be moved. Who was that guy in the morning? She couldn't shake the angry and annoyed thoughts that ran through her head. Who was he to mock her? He probably didn't even know her! And also, knocking away Kensuke so very easily and making Ryouichi wary were not easy feats. People like those were shinobi of A-Class or higher.

"You look like something is on your mind," Yuki commented, peering to the side.

Yuki, Uzumaki Yuki. A cousin even more distant – seventh – than Kimiko, Yuki also had white hair just like Kizuna, except that hers was completely natural, born from a family of white-hairs. Her eyes are colored a dark crimson and inquisitive, questioning something with a mere gaze. She has long hair, as is the trend amongst female Uzumaki, Kizuna included, but Yuki's fell down to thigh level. While she'd been born with natural white hair and red eyes, she, like Kizuna, also fell into the category of albinos. Moving on... A twenty-year-old, Yuki is due to enter the Jounin Exams soon and pass to become a Jounin with flying colors. She is the second oldest Uzumaki of their generation, and therefore tries to set an example of maturity to the rest.

Kizuna sighed, taking a band and tying her shoulder-length hair into a short ponytail. She glanced pitifully at her older cousin.

"Some strange guy landed and sat on me today, and of all things, knocked back Kensuke easily and set Ryouichi on guard. Add to the fact that I couldn't catch a glimpse of him at all and that Kensuke, Ryouichi, and Kimiko all say that he was covered up so that I couldn't see his face even if he _wasn't_ on me, and I feel down. Some guy just pushed around my best friends like nothing, makes fun of me, and now we don't know who he is or what he may do later."

Yuki whistled. "Nice rambling there, Kizuna-chan."

"Yuki-oneesan!" she protested, "I do not ramble! I just... express my thoughts in more words..."

"My dear Kizuna, that _is_ rambling. Saying more to get a point across which could've been said in far less."

"Geez," mumbled the albino, pouting. "Don't be getting all intellectual on me."

"Now, now... There may be a very good explanation for what happened this morning."

"Like what?"

"Hm? Why would _I_ have any idea?" Yuki replied cheerfully.

"..."

"Oi! Kizuna, Yuki, let's pick up the pace!" Kimiko was further down the street with Ryouichi and Kensuke nowhere to be seen. "Yamaarashi-chan suddenly had some stomach trouble, but he knows where to go, so let's _GO_!"

--

"I'd like to rent this apartment," blue-eye told the aging man.

"Mm, two-hundred ryou a month. It's a tad expensive, but that's how it is being in the better part of Honoogakure."

"Are there any advance payments?"

"Seventy-five ryou now, and one-hundred-twenty-five at the end of the month. Contract states that the month's rent must be paid before leaving the apartment, so that someone can't skip out on the apartment before the end of the month."

"I understand." He began searching through a pouch he unclipped from his right behind. "Ryou, ryou, ryou... Seventy-five ryou," he announced as he brought out the paper bills. Surely he could pay without his companion having finished his inspection on the currency; after all, this was an _old man _whose vision had most probably deteriorated through the passage of time. Blue-eye was pretty sure it was okay to spend money without reassurance that it was accurate. "So, when can I move in?"

"Whenever you want. Here's your key."

'_Bingo._'

"Thank you very much."

Blue-eye walked away after taking the key to his apartment and paused outside of the complex.

"Are you there?" he asked to no one.

"Yeah."

The voice was heard by blue-eye only, through a small headphone in his right ear. Both he and his partner had small, water-proof microphones attached to their molars to communicate with each other. In this way, the two wouldn't have to meet up to talk to one another would save an enormous amount of planning time which could be better used to scout out the foreign city or buy furniture.

"Done?"

"Nearly. I'm now comparing several of the bills to look for any discrepancies."

"I've found and purchased a home."

"What!?"

"Hey, the old man didn't really care when I gave him the money."

"Che... Next time try not to do something brash like that."

"Gotcha."

"So, what next? After I'm done here, I'm going to restock on food and equipment."

"I'm gonna go take a look-see around their Academy. Furniture can wait until later."

"I say that you get your furniture first, only because that's the most troublesome task, and I prefer to get things over with early on."

"Says you, ahou... ... ... Ah, who gives a shit? I'll go searching for furniture, you _twit_."

"I appreciate it, _cyclops_. One note. My home came with furniture."

"Be-"

--

"-quiet," Kimiko hissed, stalling their whole group in an alley.

"What are you doing."

Ryouichi tapped Kensuke and shook his head. They waited a few moments until Kimiko sighed.

"My ex," she explained. "He's still bitching about it."

"I see," Kensuke muttered, even though he really didn't understand. "Why couldn't you just sock him in the mouth to stop him?"

"I already _tried_ that."

"... Shit girl, if he still tries to whine about it after that, he must really be pissed about it."

"Tell me about it," growled Kimiko. "He had no sense of decency at all!"

"So, can we stop talking about your ex and get a move on?" Yuki asked in a patient voice, a small smile – which did not reach her eyes – adorning her face. "I rather dislike alleys and the kind of company that usually inhabits such areas. In fact, I could do with absolutely _no more distractions_ from this point on."

Anyone who knew Yuki well – well being a relative term to "family", that being relative as well – also knew that she, unlike the patient facade she put up, had an extremely short temper. Already they could see a pulsating vein on her forehead caused by what the eldest Uzumaki would consider "wastes of time". Foot tapping would be the next level of impatience, and the next would be a change from a smile to a frown. The final level of impatience, and oftentimes right before a tantrum explosion, would be an all-out glare that – if looks could kill – could kill.

"Uh, yeah! Let's get a move on!" Kensuke agreed hastily, glancing at the older woman with a few side looks. "Right, _Kimiko_?" His voice had just a hint of fear. There was only one thing as horrifying as an enemy who far outstripped a shinobi in terms of strength, and that was a maddened female. Even more so if it was "that" time of the month.

"... I think he's gone now," said the blond hesitantly. "Though he might come back this way..."

"Good, so let's go," muttered Ryouichi, ignoring her. "I think I'd be more afraid of your cousin than your ex, and the faster we get out of here," he lowered his voice, "the less danger we're in... You know where I'm going with this?"

A sigh.

"... Yes."

They exited the alley, with Kimiko taking a few more looks to make completely sure that her ex was gone, and then they were on their way after yet another setback (The first being Kensuke's stomach troubles).

"So, where are we going?" the youngest of the three Uzumaki dared to ask.

"Kizuna my dear, it's on a _need-to-know _basis, and you don't _need_ to know," Yuki replied with a devilish grin, her earlier anger dissipating away.

"I don't like the way this is heading..."

"Nonsense!" her older cousin exclaimed, taking her wrist and placing it in a vice grip. You won't be going anywhere but with us, Kizuna dear."

"Where – Where are you taking me?"

"Like I said," she said exasperatedly, patience thinning again, "Need-to-know basis, and you don't _need_ to know."

"And like I said, I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"You know I won't let you go. Resistance is futile."

"... I want a lawyer."

The group, with the exception of Kizuna, laughed aloud as they continued on their merry way.

"... I'm serious."

--

The night sky.

It was very beautiful. In this village, even the lamps were turned off late at night. Because of this, the sky was black, creating a stronger contrast with the stars and making them appear more brilliant. It wasn't everyday that you could see such a sight, especially since the sky was red and the moon dark in their home world. Blasted daemons...

Blue-eye was laying down on a rooftop, gazing at the multitude of stars gathered in the sky. He was not alone; his companion was busily – and loudly – attempting to break the lock to the rooftop door. Blue-eye could hear him cursing at the complexity of the locks in this world. He didn't bother mentioning that the door was already unlocked, because he enjoyed seeing his companion in such a troubling situation.

"Son of a-"

Blue-eye chuckled, which elicited a fierce glare.

"You couldn't have bothered to tell me?"

"Not at all."

"If we weren't busy breaking into the Academy, I'd give you a good beating."

"You and I both know that you wouldn't do that, because all of your underwear would be gone by tomorrow morning and hanging around the central plaza... Like in the good old days."

"Yeah... except this isn't 'the good old days'."

"That's true, but I'd do it just to annoy you, regardless of when it is."

"Then I can expect you to try and steal my underwear after I give you a beating?"

"What's this, you think that I'll only be able to _try_? Give me a break, ahou. There is no _if_, only a _when_."

"Well how about we discuss this later and actually go in?"

"Great idea."

Blue-eye followed his companion through the door and down the stairs. For a shinobi village, this place _really_ needed better security. Visible ANBU, no sentries, unlocked doors... It would have given the security people back home heart attacks. Well, at least when they were still alive it would have. Personally, he could care less about what happened to this village. What ticked him off was the carelessness that came before the crash. Except when he was the one crashing the careless. He would never stop enjoying the 'look-like-fish-gaping' faces that people looked like when something unbelievable happened. Unbelievable in a bad, nonviolent way of course. Meaning... pranks. Blue-eye, like any normal person, occasionally needed to relieve stress. Transferring that stress onto others became his favorite pastime.

As they'd expected, the lights were off and the place seemed deserted. It was, after all, the weekend. And it was close to midnight. It would've been easy enough with people here, and now it was like taking candy from a baby.

"So, you take the right and I take the left?" blue-eye offered.

"No, I take the side with the windows. Your hair is too noticeable."

"Too right. Alright then, I'll take the inner edges."

"Time limit?"

"One hour."

"So, what are we looking for again?"

"Just copy everything. We can always sort through it later."

"Right then. Cyclops, take care. If you get crushed by paperwork, I'll tell your family that you died honorably."

"Ha ha, _no_. Let's go."

The two of them split up, rummaging through classrooms, using a simple copying jutsu to copy everything. It was rarely used and a relatively unknown jutsu... Really, who would want to _increase_ the amount of paperwork that they had to deal with? In situations like these though, it came in handy. _Especially_ if you were trying to steal information about shinobi or a nation like these two were doing... Not that they meant any harm by it. Information is power. Power leads to survival. And surviving is what they've been doing for most of their lives.

"Security is lacking, yet they have such meticulous records," blue-eye muttered. "Hell, they've even got records of shinobi from over a hundred years ago... And this is the _Academy_. Okay, I can imagine it being in a database of sorts, but stuffing it all in here? Just... jeez."

"Lotta paperwork here," his partner said over the mic.

"Found any history yet?"

"No, but I did find a map."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, there are two large continents, this country – Honoo – occupying most of the southern continent."

"So... Honoo is big?"

"_Big_."

Blue-eye whistled. The word 'large' wasn't used unless something actually was large. If what his companion said was true, then their other companions might have ended up on a completely different continent, or on the other side.

"I guess we shouldn't be expecting our friends here so soon."

"Hey, I see some people coming."

"Who?"

"A blond, two albinos, a raven-head, and a porcupine. Shit, they're from earlier today."

"What the hell are they doing here?"

"I _did_ hear some mumbo jumbo about a birthday... And they're obviously shinobi... Maybe they're here to reminisce?"

"Screw that, we're not even halfway through!"

"More like a quarter..."

"Okay, here's the plan: We make a break for it when we can, and come another day."

"Sounds good. Better safe than sorry."

"Exactly. If we're careful, we can sneak out before they ever know we're here."

"Since when were you made leader anyways?"

"Sh, quiet."

The two could now hear the distinct noise of people walking on the wooden floor. As the sound grew louder, blue-eye held in his chakra, hiding his presence.

"If they notice us," he whispered, "we come out on both sides at once and knock them out before they can do anything."

"It's highly unlikely they'll notice us."

"Just shut up and agree with me."

"... Roger."

Both of them stood perfectly still, chakra repressed, and breathing and heart rate brought to a slow. The wooden flooring creaked as the shinobi passed through this floor, heading towards the rooftop exit. With their escape route occupied, they'd have to take a detour, which could be risky. All it would take was just one of the people to be looking over the roof at the time they would be leaving. His partner was experienced in the arts of Genjutsu, but he was absolutely _terrible_ at it. Blue-eye bit his bottom lip slightly, only a little worried. He _knew_ he could outrun and outmaneuver pretty much anyone in this country... Except for the fact that they were trying to lay low and not cause an unneeded ruckus.

In as low a voice as he could manage, he whispered, "Take what we have and let's go before they get to the top."

"I'll be fine for just a little longer. You go first; you can't hide yourself like I can."

"..." As soon as he could feel the vibrations of the floor moving away from the hall and turning a corner, he slipped out. Blue-eye used a wall of chakra to muffle and quiet the sound of his sprinting. With unnatural, chakra-induced speed, he'd cleared the second floor – where they had been – and the first, and was out of the building in forty seconds. "That's _got _to have been a new record," he muttered before disappearing into the brush. The other soon followed, hidden under a powerful genjutsu.

--

How nostalgic... This was where she had attended the Academy.

Kizuna lay on the roof, gazing at the stars just as blue-eye had done earlier. She came here whenever life's demands had begun stifling her. It was a sort of tradition that her team had acknowledged, and even followed suit in doing. Her, Kimiko, Kensuke, and Ryouichi – though now that he was ANBU he had been replaced with Yuki – had, for the first two years that they had worked together, met here once a month on the clearest night to stargaze.

She smiled warmly as she remembered, her memory of their times together still extremely clear.

As the day had come to a close, her friends and relations had chosen to relive their Genin and Chuunin days one last time. The era of peace had come to an end. Just two days prior, the other countries on the continent had banded together and declared war on Honoo no Kuni. While its large size was a benefit in terms of supplies and manpower, it also meant stretched supply lines and thinly defended fronts. Taking that into account, the strategic advisors had tried their best but also knew that enemy raiding parties would and could travel deep into Honoo territory without heavy opposition. They couldn't protect the entire border, and they couldn't protect every town. Overextension during the last war decades ago would cost them here and now.

Her smile faded slowly. That was right. After tonight, all available shinobi would be deployed to the front lines or to key villages. The country wasn't ready. Having lived too long in peace, they had neglected to build up military force. Honoo would be lucky to get away from the war with even half its land remaining. Starting tomorrow, she would be fighting for her home against unknown enemies. It was a frightening thought.

People she didn't know would die. People she knew would die as well. No one was truly safe in war. And when someone died, a raven – the scavenger, dealing with death – would be dispatched to his or her immediate family and loved ones. Kizuna dearly hoped that her aunt and uncle would never have to have a raven pecking at their window. She didn't know how they would feel, but she knew of the magnitude of pain that they would feel. To lose a daughter was like to lose your own life, even if she had been adopted.

While she hadn't ever lost anything so close to her, she could imagine how she herself would feel, and she would never wish such a feeling on anyone, friend or foe.

There would be times where she would have to kill. She would do so, but not without regret. She would do so knowing that she had brought upon the ultimate sadness for that man or woman's loved ones. She would do so knowing that if she had not done so, the same would have happened to her or her comrades, and it would have been their families to feel sadness. In the end, Kizuna prioritized her own relations before the enemies'. She knew that if she survived the war, one day she would look back and grieve for all the sadness that she had wrought.

For as long as she could remember, she'd never had parents. Her uncle and aunt had taken her in since childbirth, caring for the orphan as if she were their own child. Such bonds never completely disappeared. Nevertheless, she had never truly regarded them are 'parents'. Even so, they and all her living relatives were still her family. Her close friends were also included.

And so Kizuna made her decision, one that she had been debating on for hours upon hours since the day of declaration of war.

For her family,

For her friends,

For her comrades,

For her dreams,

For her hopes,

For her village,

For the future,

Even if it meant her own death,

Even if it meant the deaths of others,

Even if the ultimate sadness and suffering were inflicted on her enemies' loved ones,

Even if she was sorely outnumbered,

She would fight to her last breath.

--

It was four in the morning, with the sky beginning to lighten as dawn approached. Kizuna staggered up the stairs of the apartment complex and through the halls, twice getting off at the wrong floor. Shinobi could technically be up and running for twenty-four hours, but it was highly recommended to get rest while you could, because fatigue was a shinobi's worst enemy both in and out of battle. Well, Kizuna had gone through twenty-four hours. Dead-tired, it was not surprising that she stopped in front of the wrong door and tried to go in. She frowned when the key wouldn't fit. Unable to think properly, she began trying to open the door forcefully with chakra.

So focused on the door that she was, she didn't hear the cursing coming from inside and the rapid steps that sounded out.

When the door swung in, she _did _notice that. She also noticed the man standing in front of her in his pajamas. And that a strained glance at the door showed that she was at the wrong apartment.

"S-Sorry," she stuttered slowly, backing away. "I guess I must've gotten the wrong room."

He came out into the hallway and watched as she shuffled two doors down the hall and tried the key. This time it worked. Her mistake? She had come in from the opposite side of where she usually came in (The hall had two entrances). As a result, by moving using body memory, she ended up one door from the middle, except that since it was the opposite side, she had run into someone else's room.

"You shouldn't stay out so late," he called after her as she entered her apartment. "It's not good for your health."

The door shut without a reply and for a while, he stood there. Shrugging, the man turned around and went back into his own apartment, closing the door behind him. In that instant before the door completely closed, one would have been able to see a small smile appear on his face, his single blue eye sparkling with humor.

* * *

Kizuna – Bonds

Kensuke – Bladed Help

Ryouichi – Good One

Oneesan – Older Sister

Itoko – Cousin

Yamaarashi – Porcupine

Honoogakure no Sato – Hidden Flame Village

Kagerougakure no Sato – Hidden Heat Haze Village (Note: In canon, it is the Hidden Dragonfly Village. Kagerou can mean either, and I choose heat haze)

Honoo no Kuni – Flame Country

Yama no Kuni – Mountain Country

Ahou – Fool

Author's Note: Concerning albinos: Actual albinos have white hair and red eyes. The red eyes in albinos are a result of a lack of pigments which exposes the eye's blood vessels. The blood naturally paints the pigmentless eye a red hue. This means that while Yuki was born with the white hair and red eyes traits from her parents, she is classified as a true albino, while Kizuna is classified as a semi-albino because she lacks the red eyes.


	2. Initiative

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or any other cameo that may make their way into this story. Hana(M), Hana(F), and Akari do not belong to me._

Ryouichi: _On another note, I still consider this chapter a semi-final rough draft. I'll continue making changes, but I'm going to need outside opinion on this. This has not been beta'd, but isn't fresh off the press either. I've spent quite a few days going over this piecemeal. I understand that the story may jump around often, but it's because I need to present the pieces that are necessary for the continuation of the story.  
_

_It has been a while since I've posted up a chapter. To all curious, remember to check up on my profile. I keep my progress updated a lot via diary entries and progress reports._

* * *

Sand.

Sand.

Sand.

Sand... EVERYWHERE!

"Shit on a stick," muttered Himuro Akari, "when will we get out of this endless desert?" Greatly displeased, she glared at the barren, desert landscape that stretched out all the way to the horizon as if it could do any good. Her crimson red hair blew as the dry and brittle desert wind swept by. Coughing a bit of sand out of her mouth, she set her mouth in a grim line and began trudging through the desert again. Fortunately, she had company. Unfortunately, both had a tendency to not speak to each other... or anyone else for that matter.

If she had a magic eight ball, she knew that it would read: Outlook bleak, and maybe accompanied by an evil laugh just to spite her. She let out a small sigh and adjusted her goggles.

"Are you sure we're not in a genjutsu?" Akari asked the Hyuuga trailing her, doubt flashing in her irises. Her voice was quiet and lacked the annoyance that she felt on the inside.

Akari had originally been a sociopath, one who felt absolutely no emotions at all; A person who couldn't understand emotions. It was very common for sociopaths to be able to mimic emotions believably to make up for their lack of actual emotions. It was also known that as a sociopath aged, he or she would begin to feel true emotions like that of any normal person. The same held true for Akari, except that her voice kept its emotionless tone because she had never mimicked the tones of voice related to certain emotions. This inability to express her emotions audibly bothered her, but not by much. She could still make facial expressions of emotions in place of words. She voluntarily chose not to show much emotions facially, however, because as a shinobi, clarity came through the control of emotions. There were times to express emotions and times not to, although in the current situation she was hard-pressed not to let anger overtake her and wreak havoc on everything around her.

"Dry desert as far as my eyes can see," the Hyuuga replied dryly, no pun intended. "No signs of genjutsu either." A sigh. "It's real."

"... Hana-san."

"Yes?"

"Hypothetically... if this were Kaze no Kuni and we had to walk from one end to another in the longest straight route possible, how long would it take?"

"At our current pace? One-and-a-half weeks, maybe two. Why?"

"... We might want to speed up."

"I suppose so."

"..."

"..."

The two walked briskly in silence. The only sounds came from the sweeping of the wind and sand. Neither of them created any noise from their traveling as testament to their shinobi prowess. Unfortunately, every human being, shinobi included, were not completely void of emotion. Even those without emotion possessed the potential to express emotion. As such, even shinobi had limits to their patience.

"If killing you would grant me access to water, shade, or any other earthly comfort that could rescue me from this unbearable heat, I would do so," stated the redhead bluntly.

"I know you would, Akari-san," Hana replied warily, "You're awfully logical after all."

"... Why could I not have landed here with the other Hana-san?"

"Less complaining, more walking."

"I suggest you watch your back while you sleep, bitch. I might just slit your throat."

"You wouldn't dare." The response was lofty and confident. "Minato would have your head if you did."

Akari shrugged. "He would, but I would enjoy it."

Hana faltered slightly.

"Enjoy what, slitting my throat or being killed by Minato?"

"Both."

"..." The Hyuuga dropped back a little, a strange look on her face.

And the two kunoichi continued on, trudging silently through the seemingly endless desert.

* * *

The Hokage addressed the shinobi standing in front of her of their mission: The first combat mission of the war.

"Your mission is a preemptive strike in enemy territory; raid Kanazawa, a border town of Yama no Kuni. Once the villagers are captured and handed over to the ANBU and the village burned, you are to continue in deeper into enemy territory and attack the defended village of Matsue in broad daylight."

A shinobi raised his hand. "Why do we not attack during the night, Hokage-sama?"

"Gaining the advantage is imperative in the early stages of war. Shinobi are trained to infiltrate, and thus the enemy will _expect _us to attack during the night. However, by attacking under broad daylight, the enemy will be caught off guard and vulnerable to further strikes. While Kagerougakure no Sato is a small shinobi village, their shinobi have always been known to be outstanding in combat. We must cut our overall losses by gaining the advantage, if only for a while. This strike will force other countries' troops to divert to Yama no Kuni, allowing the rest of Honoo no Kuni's border defenses some reprieve. Any questions?"

She could only see determination on their faces.

"Good. Move out, and Godspeed."

The briefing ended and the forty shinobi left to begin their mission. Separated from the group were twelve ANBU. Of them, Uchiha Ryouichi approached the Hokage and saluted.

"Permission to speak, Hokage-sama?"

"Permission granted."

"I am not a heartless person. However, I must ask why we are not going to kill the villagers in order to deal a psychological strike against the enemy, Hokage-sama."

"I understand how you feel, but it is too early to perform such deeds. At this point, it would only serve to enrage the enemy further by our 'brutality'. We have to wait for the lowest point of the war, when their advance is at its slowest. _That_ is when we must strike out psychologically, and in overwhelming number."

"Overwhelming number?" one of Ryouichi's platoon mates dared to ask.

"At that certain point in time, Honoo would hypothetically in such a situation send in dozens of elite covert ops teams to flatten and destroy many of the enemies' villages."

"And the villagers..."

"Will be slaughtered down to the last woman, elderly, and child. It is harsh, but such are the atrocities that war will force us to commit. We can not afford to show the enemy any more weakness than we have already shown during peacetime. We must tell them flat out through our actions that Honoo's shinobi will stop at nothing to protect their lands, and that none of their families will ever be safe as long as we are threatened with destruction. When the time comes, you and the rest of the ANBU _will_ be part of the covert ops teams. Understood?"

"... Understood," Ryouichi replied, saluting crisply. The eleven other ANBU did the same.

"Prepare your squad for the future. You will have command over five platoons, including your own."

They bowed down to their waists, then disappeared in flashes of flames.

The Hokage sighed. In the end, assuming even the greatest amount possible, Honoo would only have at its disposal eight-hundred or so shinobi who were battle-ready, with about a hundred-and-fifty Genin and Academy students under wartime emergency preparations. These preparations were intensive training designed to have the youngest of shinobi out to the front within six months, one year if the safety margin for ability were maintained so that unprepared shinobi wouldn't fall in battle. Their country itself had access to thousands of enlisted soldiers and tens of thousands of conscripts.

'_The daimyo and his army is as much involved in this war as we are, because the other countries declared war on Honoo as a country and not as a village. Our shinobi created no hostilities, mainly __because they weren't sent out-of-country in the first place, excluding the highest-priority missions taken by ANBU._'

The Hokage sighed again.

"Come out, I know you're there."

"..."

The Hokage glared into the shadows of the opposite side of the briefing room, which was more like a small stadium. The only light on shined down on the Hokage.

"I won't repeat myself a third time; Come out."

And so he did, his arms up and without weapons as a sign of goodwill. He looked like any normal villager, except for his eyes. His _eyes_.

"...!" the Hokage started up from the chair in shock and a little bit of fear.

He smirked and uttered two words,

And the black evil in his red eyes spun.

"Mangekyou Sharingan."

* * *

Blue-eye was on a morning stroll when he spotted the shinobi gathering at the eastern gate. Perhaps it was fate; he was certain he'd recognized a certain someone. After looking over topographical maps and the like at the Academy the night previous, he and his companion had found that the continent roughly resembled a large ellipse. Honoo occupied three-quarters of the land while the rest of the countries bunched up in the east. Based on this information and on what he was seeing, blue-eye knew that a defensive war was impossible.

Why? He counted about forty shinobi preparing to move out. It was too large to be a raiding party. It was too small to be an attack force that could take a shinobi village. This meant that Honoo didn't have or couldn't spare enough manpower to attack the enemy while defending their large borders at the same time.

'_I have to hand it to the Kage in charge though, that person knows how to fight. Exactly _because _defending the borders is nearly impossible, an order's been sent out to mount the first offensive of the war to throw the enemy into confusion and to buy time. It's not often the underdog strikes out first._'

At the same time, even though he knew it was a viable strategy, blue-eye also knew that it would fail. They had neither the manpower nor will to keep the offensive push from stalling. Even if they had enough troops, the regular shinobi had been kept in a peaceful environment for far too long. For Honoo to triumph it required heartlessness and a willingness to give the enemy no brook and to totally annihilate anything blocking their path to victory. Murders, massacres, biological and chemical warfare... these were things that they could not shy from if they wanted to win this war.

As the village had grown fat and lazy through peace, so too did the complacency of the shinobi become unbearable. These men and women would have been laughingstocks to even the most inexperienced shinobi of his homeworld.

In a way, blue-eye pitied them for their ignorance and naivety. Peace would not and could not last forever, not when it was natural human instinct to better themselves at the cost of others. Not when corruption still exists and the rich feed off the poor. As long as evil remained in the world and in the hearts of mortals, war would never end. It was sheer idiocy that would dull these weapons called shinobi merely because they had entered a time of peace.

In another way, he envied them because they had never seen the true atrocities of war, had never felt sadness of such magnitude that it seemed without end, had never had to forsake their own ideals for survival. These peacemongers never had to slaughter so indiscriminately as he had. They had never lost truly everything as he had; his village, comrades, family, dreams, hopes, and future. These had all been robbed of him long ago.

Sure, it didn't bother him anymore – he was desensitized to these kinds of things now – but he still remembered. He could _never_ forget when he'd lost everything... When he'd began treading this path of destruction.

In a sick turn of events, the loss of everything had made him realize that mercilessness was a necessity of survival.

He had once been at honest man. Ridiculous, he knew. Shinobi weren't supposed to be honest. That was what the job was like. He knew better now.

He could be considered quite the calculating man now. Deceitful, almost. No one, not even his own comrades... not even his closest friend knew the true scope of his power.

He would keep it that way.

This was why blue-eye found himself respecting the village's Kage to a degree. It was these leaders who could commit countless sins to protect their people that could be counted on to win wars. Necessary evils couldn't be avoided; He himself had killed many innocents, their only crime unknowingly harboring daemons in their bodies. From experience and speculation, not actual research, daemon spores were thought to enter people through the air and grow inside them until the person died from the parasitic infection, from which the corpse would rise up and become a daemon. There were other ways to breed daemons, he knew, because even after the supply of humans had all but disappeared, more and more daemons had continued to appear.

He also knew thanks to his demon, not to be confused with daemons, that the daemons had no prior knowledge of world-hopping before they invaded the mortal world. This served to concrete his theory that infecting humans wasn't the only way they could spawn, but also created new questions such as... "How?"

How did the daemons grow in number?

How did they enter the mortal realm?

How did this girl fit into all of this? And...

How had he _not_ been noticed yet?

He was acting pretty suspicious, he knew, yet no one had questioned him as of yet. Matter of fact, no one was even looking his way. There was a war starting, and yet these shinobi were relaxing within the walls of their own village. Deplorable. Spies, traitors, saboteurs, infiltrators... they were all dangerous and capable enough to get into the village, especially with security as lax it was. Even now, the civilians he'd asked had been surprised the shinobi were mobilizing. Blue-eye doubted that they even knew there was a war on.

'_Nobody likes war. Heck, _I_ don't like war._' Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't kill people mercilessly. He would. What was problematic was that this world was already spiraling into a war within a day of their arrival and that the power balance would once become heavily skewed. Blue-eye had some suspicions of the cause, but nothing more.

For now, he would bide his time. He'd wait and see how things would turn out. If the girl died, so be it. Joining the war was unimportant.

'_The fight is going to come to me anyway._'

* * *

On another continent...

"Son of a bitch..."

A person in a black hooded cloak trudged down the mountain. It was getting marginally warmer, but it was still well below freezing. Any normal person would've guessed that this person wearing just a thin piece of cloth would be close to freezing alive, but that wasn't the case.

"Sure," he grumbled to himself, "just because I have an ice-affinity they go and fucking drop me off at the top of Mount Whoknowswhere in a completely barren wasteland of ice."

He flipped off the sky without missing a beat and continued his pace down the slope.

"I'm so catching a cold like this."

The freezing air blew, pushing back the hood and revealing a young, tan face with long yellow hair.

"... My hair's frozen..."

* * *

"You all heard the mission briefing. Are your supplies packed and and your mind and body battle-ready?"

"Sir, yes sir!" nearly everyone shouted in unison.

"Unghh," one voice groaned.

"..."

"You there... you're an Uzumaki aren't you?"

The person asking was the commander of the two squad offensive. He had a name, but people called him Ichigo, for his prowess in ensuring the survival of his comrades' and subordinates' lives on the field. His green eyes scanned over the person in question, one of the prestigious Uzumaki of Honoo. They were easily told apart from regular shinobi by the red spiral sewn onto the left shoulder of Honoo's navy-colored standard-issue long-sleeved shirt. Unfortunately, however famous the clan was, it didn't seem to have any bearing on the sleeping girl in his line of sight.

"... Uhn?"

A few of the shinobi present sweat-dropped.

Uzumaki Kizuna was still three-quarters asleep while standing and with her supplies packed and set down next to her feet.

The questions rang in whispers throughout the shinobi;

'_How did she even pack her backpack like this?_'

And even if she had,

'_What the hell did she put in there in that state?_'

Or,

'_How did she even get here like that?_'

Ichigo frowned even as the same questions ran through his head.

"Uzumaki, are you going to wake up now or sleep through the mission?" he shouted.

No response.

Everyone waited.

The chilly spring wind blew, carrying with it a mere hint of a whisper...

'_It's time to wakey-uppy, _hime_-sama._

Kizuna's eyes snapped open and to attention, startling her squad and platoon leader as she let out a yell in surprise and anger. She could barely hear it, the laughter being blown away by the wind. So he'd come to mock her again? Well, she'd-

"I see you're awake now, Uzumaki," he growled.

"Uh..."

"Why is it you were still asleep, soldier?" the Jounin demanded, having been embarrassed in front of the commander of this mission.

Kizuna frowned, turning away slightly to mutter, "I have no excuse, sir." '_I can't possibly tell him I was up pondering the philosophical and moral aspects of war..._'

He matched her frown, but seeing as she was now awake gave a grunt and gave a nod to the commander. Ichigo returned it and turned back to the two squads assembled in front of the village's East Gate. To the east were the enemies, and to the west the ocean, which could be easily exploitable by raid parties on ships. He knew just as well as any tactical planner that it would be extremely difficult for Honoo to stay on the defensive, which is why he agreed with the Hokage's concerns for a preemptive strike.

"Listen up, I won't say this again. You've all heard the briefing, and if _sleeping beauty_ - "What?" - hasn't heard, I want the rest of her platoon to fill her in. There is absolutely no time to waste. We attack Kanazawa as the sun is seen above the mountains behind the village. We then move rapidly and strike Matsue as the sun hangs directly over our heads. A surprise attack in broad daylight! Our enemies have always called us stupid monkeys, but today we prove them both right and wrong. We will _stupidly_ attack in broad daylight, but even though they've called us those names, they haven't even stopped to think that we might actually be 'stupid enough' to follow through. That's where we prove those pathetic excuses for shinobi wrong! _We_ will be the ones jeering, "Stupid monkeys took stupid tactics and shoved defeat up your _ass_!""

"UOOOOO!" everyone roared in approval.

"Move out!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"And no more sleeping on the job, Uzumaki!"

"... Sir, yes sir... you monkey," she whispered the last part in a very low voice so that only her team could hear her. A few chuckles came from them as each platoon began sprinting out of the village.

"Platoon Thirteen! Go, go, go!"

And so they left through the gates. Kizuna looked back and felt a sense of foreboding at the dark and empty walls of Honoogakure. When the war ended... would she have a home to go back to? Would she have people waiting for her? Kizuna turned her head away in sadness. Perhaps she would never find out. Perhaps she would never make it back. Perhaps her oaths were made in vain.

A firm grip. A hand was placed on her shoulder as they leapt through the tree branches.

"Don't worry." Her platoon leader gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll all home one way or another, I'll make sure of it."

"... Thanks, Naoto-tai."

"No prob," he replied, smile widening. "Of course, I'll be hard-pressed to get you home safely if you're going to sleep while standing. Try not to embarrass me like that next time." The smile disappeared as soon as it had appeared as he turned his focus onto the mission. "Let's pick up the pace, we're falling behind."

"Roger."

* * *

"I sensed her."

"Who?"

"Hana."

"How?"

He pointed to his red eyes. "This."

"Ah," blue-eye murmured. "So, how far is she?"

"Pretty far. Her presence is getting stronger as time passes, but it's like sand falling in an hourglass. The difference is minute."

"Can you determine a general direction yet?"

"No. At this rate, we'll have to wait a week or two to at least think about tracking them down. That is, if they're heading in this direction."

"You mean to say that they might just be traveling at a tangent?"

"It's possible..."

"... Always expect the worst-"

"- in any situation, Shinobi rule thirteen. I know it already, cyclops, you don't have to say it aloud."

"That's my partner for ya," blue-eye replied, chuckling. "Just like his sweetheart."

"Shut up. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a homo."

"Say what?"

"Hell, I have _never _seen you in a serious relationship with _any _girl."

"And you have?"

Blue-eye's companion – who will now be referred to as red-eye – smirked. "I've had a thing going with three _at once_ before."

"Enough of your lies."

"Oh yes, we did do some of that too."

"Shut the f-"

"Hey look, it's ANBU," red-eye blurted out, pointing.

Blue-eye turned around quickly. Why was ANBU spying on them? Either that or-

'_Were they spying on _me_?_'

Or...

"If I turn around, you'd better fucking still be there, you whore."

Blue-eye turned back to face red-eye... or would have faced him if the man was still there.

"... You _son of a bitch_."

'_When I get my filthy hands around your neck..._'

"You mean _if_ you get your hands around his neck," a voice called out smugly from behind.

"No, I-... Who are you!"

* * *

Dark clouds dominated the sky.

"How downcast..."

Daikitoushi – or in _their_ language, High Shaman – Benten frowned in displeasure. She stayed put, as if waiting for something. As time crept by, the clouds opened up with rain. At the horizon, Benten could see that the dark clouds were beginning to tint red as the sun rose slowly. A red sunrise was not unusual, but yesterday's sunset had also been red. In fact, both that sunset and this sunrise was a deep crimson shade. Like blood. The clouds continued to bring rain even as their hue changed.

"An omen," she murmured softly. "The flames of the sun – of war – has arrived, bringing with it bloodshed. Sadness will be as numerous as the raindrops, unavoidable."

"Is it finally time, Daikitoushi-sama?"

"Perhaps... Ina!"

"Yes, Daikitoushi-sama?"

"Gather your twenty best wherever they may be and return here in a week's time. It will all begin soon."

"Have you foreseen it?"

"No, but I can feel it. Both of them are on the move, and the chess game is about to begin. The pieces are almost in place and the finals nearly ready to begin. There can only be one winner."

"Can you divine who will win this dangerous game, Daikitoushi-sama?"

"No, that is why you must hurry. We must not let them win, or we are all doomed. Ina, hurry."

"Yes."

As the rapid pitter-patter of footsteps faded away, Benten finally turned away from the sky and instead looked at the pair of scimitar planted point-first into the ground in front of a large stone statue. The steel-gray coating of the two weapons half-absorbed and half-reflected the red sunlight, creating the illusion that they were glowing.

Scimitars were unusual weapons, but this pair were unusual scimitars as well... Broad like a broadsword with a scimitar's curves, it was double-edged and had four holes drilled into the grip, as if the maker had expected the user to use them as heavy trench-knives. Certainly if the wielder had enough strength, he or she would be able to use it adeptly. They served a purpose of which she had no inkling. Certainly she knew they would be used in the upcoming war, but nothing more than that they'd been relics from the last war.

"The time is coming. You two will soon return to your master."

"My, how serious you look, Daikitoushi-dono."

"Dainisou-dono," Benten replied without turning, "welcome. May I be rude enough to ask why you are paying me a visit?"

"That time is approaching. You have felt it just as I have."

"... Yes."

"It saddens me to know that neither of us can do anything."

"We dream-seers are bound by our oaths to never directly interfere in the proper order of things. It is only natural."

"My miko are ready. Your Shashu?"

"They are as ready as they'll ever be, Dainisou-dono."

"Please, just call me Amaterasu."

"Then please address me as Benten as well, Amaterasu-dono."

"Very well."

The two stood in silence as the sun climbed higher into the sky.

"Will you be sending the Kyoudai no Ho?" Benten asked, breaking the silence.

"Only if you send Otohime as well, said the younger of the pair."

"That is a given; she is one of the best in Shashu that serve me."

"Then it is also a given that the Kyoudai no Ho will also be present in this journey."

A gong sounded in the distance. Amaterasu's eyes dimmed as the ground too became colored red.

"So it has begun... the invasion into our lands. Would you care to wager how long my brothers' kekkai will last?"

"No, I don't suppose I would."

Amaterasu scowled, slightly downtrodden. "How about the time it takes for them to be found?"

"I would not wager on that either. The odds of that are like those of Russian roulette."

"... Russian roulette?"

"... Never mind..."

"... Anyways, my brother Susanoo has become restless. The daemons outside the kekkai are beckoning for his presence in combat."

"He must stay and maintain the barrier." Benten sighed. "It may test his will and patience, but it must be done. We must buy as much time as possible for the others."

"I can only guarantee the minimum lifespan of the barrier to be two years."

"Two years only?"

"Be grateful that _both _of my brothers are maintaining the barrier," Amaterasu growled. "Otherwise it wouldn't last more than six months. Do not forget just how many daemons there are waiting for the barrier to fall, and just how powerful their leader is."

"How could I forget?" scoffed Benten. "I foresaw the extent of his power, but anything more is beyond my ability. At that point in time, the resulting clash of powers will be too chaotic for even fate and destiny to take hold. Yes. At that time, he will only be able to rely on himself."

"We must have faith in him, he who was the victor of the last war incarnate in a new form."

"We must."

"Faith in the last of the descendant of nature."

"The maelstrom of the sea, the hurricane... Just some of the few unstoppable forces of nature in existence. Of them, those two will create ripples that will change the future," said Benten.

"Those two will inevitably be drawn to each other, just as it has in the past," Amaterasu followed. "The waves created by those two's presence will shatter entire realms."

"The Kimon no Hogosha – the Gate Guardians – will arise to guard the gate between the daemon and human worlds. Through them alone will the Will of Fire be able to live on."

"Through them, humanity will be saved."

* * *

"This is One. Is everyone in their positions? Over."

"Two, in position, over."

"Three, as ready as ever, over."

"This is Four, there's an enemy patrol at my position, over."

"Roger," Naoto replied through the mic. "Operate from your current position, do you copy? Over."

"Wilco, loud and clear, over."

"Alright. Three, no more sleep-standing, over."

"... This is Three, roger that, over."

"Mission start at Oh-Six-Thirty. At the signal, you do what you were assigned to do. This is One, out."

...

"I feel strange."

"Idiot, that's because it's so humid this early in the morning."

"No, I don't mean that. It's like a prickly feeling at the back of my neck. Like we're in the middle of an ambush or something."

"Oh come on, like Honoo will attack us when they're outnumbered and on the d-AGH!"

"What, did you trip or something?" The guard turned around to find his patrol partner lying face down on the dirt, a kunai tip protruding through the back of his neck after piercing the front. "HOLY SHIT!"

He leapt to the side, barely avoiding being skewered by five kunai. He immediately made for the deeper parts of the woods. Screw getting back to the village, it was full of invalids. Sure, quite a few of them had shinobi in their families, but bygones be bygones, he'd rather they be dead than him. In the end, that would be the most important lesson his dad had ever taught him.

"Above all else, look out for Number One," the guard muttered to himself as he fled further and further. "I have to get to the nearest shinobi outpost. Honoo has no allies so that had to be Honoo shinobi back there... Shit. You've got to be shitting me," he growled when he came upon a literal wall of earth in front of him.

"We've been expecting you."

"... Shit."

There was a Honoo ANBU platoon around him in a diamond, ninjato drawn.

"Come with us quietly and the most we'll do is torture you for information," said what seemed to be the leader. "Or if you choose to give us the information willingly, the most we'll do is keep you in a cell. Choose: life or death."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me... I choose life."

Another ANBU platoon appeared next to him. One of them placed a hand on his left shoulder.

"Then you'll be coming with us. Any sudden moves and it's your head. Remember that."

"Yes, yes, I understand," the unnamed guard muttered. "I can only hope that you all die in your sleep."

"Just hope that's the only thing you'll be doing once we get back to the village," said one of the ANBU in the second platoon. "You're the war's first casualty. Just imagine what the interrogators might _love_ to try on you, their first experiment in years."

"S-Shut up!"

"No more unnecessary talking. You," the captain of the second platoon pointed to the captive, "will be walking to Honoo on your own. My platoon and I will be walking around you, twenty-five meters apart each. Radio silence unless it's an emergency."

"Roger that," the three others said in unison.

...

"This is Platoon Alpha-November-Bravo-Uniform-Zero-Two. We have the second guard in custody, returning home, over."

"Copy that. This is HQ to Alpha-Zero-Two, Godspeed, out. To Task Force Sierra, status report, over."

"This is Sierra-Zero-Three, Alpha-Zero-Two got the second one so we're good to go, over."

"Sierra-Zero-One, all enemy targets neutralized, over."

"Sierra-Zero-Two, we've rendezvoused with Sierra-Zero-Four and our objectives have been met, over."

"This is Sierra-Zero-Four on Zero-Two's line. Our headsets were fried by a Raiton jutsu. All further commands should be relayed through Sierra-Zero-Two, over."

"Roger that Sierra-Zero-Two, situation noted. This is HQ to Task Force Sierra, move to your next objectives within Oh-Seven-Hundred. Initiate combat plan at Oh-Seven-Thirty. This is HQ, out."

"This is One, move to the next objective within Oh-Seven-Hundred. That's fifteen minutes, people. Double time! Over."

"This is Four, copy that."

"Two is copying."

"This is Three, I copy that."

"One, out."

The platoon of two Jounin – One and Two – and two Chuunin took to the dense treetops that spanned for most of the continent. Their first objective had been to take out the border guards, and now their next objective was to take out the village guards less than thirty minutes afterwards to allow for a blitz by Task Force Echo. From that point on, there were no official orders or plans. This was the problem that came from having a central HQ, pros aside; If HQ was unable to send out orders or ran out of orders to send or just became plain 'stumped', the shinobi relying on HQ would become essentially headless. Though platoon captains learned their way through the ropes through experience on solo-platoon missions, going against HQ in a state of war, regardless of whether or not they have any orders to send, was paramount to treason.

'_The Hokage should invest in sub-HQs_,' Sierra-Zero-One's platoon captain Kanzaki Naoto thought to himself. '_Divide the chain of command and hand the different HQs different wartime objectives. Split __the burden._'

Time seemed to pass rapidly. Normally one would say that it seemed to pass slowly, but this preemptive strike would determine just what Honoo's position in the war would be. Every minute counted, and he began fearing the passing of time. The sun was rising higher and it would make the ambush of the village that much harder as the more time passed.

"This is One to Sierra-Zero-One, report status Zero-One, over."

In this situation, Zero-One wasn't referencing Sierra-Zero-One. Rather, it meant that the platoon captain wanted their status in one word. No unnecessary "This is Four" or "I'm as ready as I'll ever be". This is where the real mission began. No more bullshitting.

"Two, ready."

"Three, ready."

"Four, ready."

He didn't bother with a response and instead radioed a different person.

"Sierra-Zero-One to HQ, readiness confirmed, over."

"Copy that, Zero-One. This is HQ to Task Force Sierra, begin operations, out."

"One. Sierra-Zero-One, begin operations, out."

And with that, the four shinobi platoons of Squad Two began their part of the operations to take out the enemy shinobi patrolling the walls of Kanazawa. In the meantime, the entirety of Squad One and the remainder of Squad Two were positioned in a semicircle around the village. At the signal, they would blitzkrieg. The projected time for the destruction of the village and the securing of all the villagers: Thirty minutes.

* * *

"Did you hear?"

Someone groaned. "No I haven't heard. I _never_ hear so do you even need to ask me that every single time?"

A pout appeared on her face.

"So? What is this news you have for me?" Red eyes opened lazily, glancing to the side.

"Fu, you're no fun Ren."

"I'm no fun to _you_. I like having fun, but I don't like _being_ the fun, Michi."

"Well who cares?" Michi declared, palms on her hips. "Get this, those humans down on the southern continent started a _new war_!"

"Oh?" Ren's interest became stimulated. "A new war, you say? It's been quite a while since the last one." He sat up from his position on top of a grassy hill – perfect for cloud-watching – and leaned back on his arms. Ren's long flame-red hair began to sway with the soft breeze. "If I recall correctly... about hundred-fifty years?"

"Right?" she exclaimed. "So I was thinking about taking a trip there, you, me, and a few other friends!"

"I'll pass," The reply was immediate, and by the time Michi had processed Ren's answer, he had already turned his back to her and waved a lax hand as if he were shooing away a fly. "Too much trouble."

"B-B-B-B-B-But Ren! You _know_ I'm not allowed _anywhere_ unless you're with me!" she protested. "And this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing!"

Ren turned his head and glared at her. "One, you're not allowed anywhere without me because you _destroy shit_ and I'm the only one that can knock some sense into you. Two, just because we missed the last war and might miss this war doesn't mean that there won't be any more wars in the future. Come on Michi, we're _youkai_. The weakest of us can live a few centuries. Surely you aren't saying there'll be no more wars after this one."

"But..."

"But nothing. I'll tell you this, if you _really_, and I mean _REALLY_ want to go, then go cry in front of your dad again. You know he's weak to the teary-puppy-dog-eye technique, and he'll probably get one of his bodyguards to go with you."

"But you're _my best friend_, and I don't like going anywhere with those stiffs. "Michi-sama" this, "Don't do that" that, all they do is whine after me."

"Well you _are_ the second daughter of this region's youkai lord."

Michi puffed out her cheeks. "That makes no difference at all to me. I just want to enjoy my life to the fullest. Why should _I_ have to be careful? The mantle's going to be passed onto brother anyways."

"Your dad obviously still cares about you, heir or not."

"..."

"Hm? Did I just out-argue you? _Again_?"

"No! I was just thinking..."

"Thinking of...?"

"..."

Ren sighed as he sat up and turned to look at his friend. "Look, Michi. I know you really want me to go with you, and despite how I'm acting, it's not like I don't care about the war or about your feelings. I've been and will still be very busy. I've got a lot to prepare for since I'm the eldest male in my family. Just do me this favor and go with another person, and I'll follow you when everything here is dealt with."

"... Really?" asked Michi, shuffling her feet while poking her index fingers together.

"Really," he affirmed, nodding. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Alright, it's a promise! You'd better not go back on your word, Ren! Ach!" Machi yelled as she began running down the slope, only to trip.

"I'll try not to!" he shouted, laughing as he saw her tumble a short distance. "You should worry more about getting home without tripping a dozen more times!"

"Shut up!"

The last call faded into the wind as she became just a speck at the bottom of the hill. Ren sighed as he leaned back into the grass. He smiled wanly at the setting sun which signaled the ending of the day. And also the ending of his youth. With his father's untimely and accidental death, the title of clan head was now being passed onto him. There were some who were against it, but there were plenty more who acknowledged his strength as acceptable of that of a clan head.

A feeling rose within him as he thought of the responsibility that he would soon have to possess. It wasn't a good feeling. In fact, he felt absolutely sick just thinking about it. He'd have normally considered such an ill feeling an bad omen, had he not been so carefree and lazy all these years. It was only natural that he'd feel as such when suddenly coming upon a shitload of paperwork, right?

* * *

"Alpha-November-Bravo-Uniform-Zero-Three, reporting, over."

"Copy that, this is HQ. Status, over?"

"Task Force Sierra is 'on schedule' and should be arriving at third staging point in few minutes. Target Kilo in sight. Guard detail minimal. Sierra requests new orders, over."

"HQ to Alpha-Zero-Three. New orders will be relayed in five, stick to your assignments, over."

"Copy that. Alpha-Zero-Three resuming surveillance, out."

...

"HQ to Task Force Sierra, your new orders are as follows:..."

...

"Sierra-Zero-One, ready."

"Sierra-Zero-Two, ready."

"Sierra-Zero-Three, ready."

"Sierra-Zero-Four, ready."

"Sierra-Zero-Five, ready."

"This is HQ to Task Force Sierra and Task Force Echo: Strike them fast and hard and leave no enemy shinobi alive. Good luck. HQ, out."

"You heard the man. Begin operation!"

"Roger!""Roger!""Roger!"

* * *

"... Yo."

"Yo..."

Red-eye and blue-eye glanced around warily. Seeing as they were in a different world, each one didn't trust himself to be able to sense any and every shinobi fully. When the sixth sense couldn't be counted on, the other senses worked just as fine. Touch for feeling vibrations, hearing to hear the steps of others, smell for smelling them out, and sight for... well, seeing them. There are also times when someone says that they can "taste someone's fear". Literally. Fortunately, these two couldn't do that, and didn't wish to be able to do so either. "Fear's gotta taste bad," blue-eye once said. "How else does it make people sweat, wet their pants, shit, empty their bowels, and so on?"

"It seems safe," red-eye concluded hesitantly.

"What'd you find out?"

"Still no information about the northern continent... that information seems to be heavily controlled. What I _did_ find was the family registries for the Uzumaki clan that lives here."

Blue-eye rolled his eyes. "Why would you pick up trash like that?"

"Because you had familial relations to Uzumaki in our world?"

"Irrelevant."

"Whatever... I also found research on tachyons."

"Tachy-what now?"

"Tachyons," red-eye repeated slowly, a serious but condescending look on his face as if he was looking at an idiot. "... You know."

"No I don't, and stop giving me that look."

"..."

"..."

Without warning, blue-eye backhanded red-eye's cheek, sending the surprised man into a fit.

"What was that for?"

"... You were staring at me... fag. And consider it retribution for running out on me a few hours ago."

Red-eye stared incredulously at his compatriot, his mouth opening and closing without a sound.

"So... you bitch slapped me because you thought I was staring at you inappropriately."

"Sounds about right," replied blue-eye, busily picking at his fingernails. '_Though it seems you forgot that I said I did it because you left me back there as well... What a one-track mind..._' As red-eye began to close the distance between them, he held up his hand. "Oh yeah, and before you get your panties in a bunch, I found something interesting myself."

"It had better be damn well interesting to stop me from injuring you."

"There are shinobi that are dissatisfied with the decisions made by the ruling Hokage."

"... and?"

"We could turn them to our side."

"... and?"

"We could, you know, _train them_?"

"... and?"

Blue-eye glared evilly at his partner with a deep scowl marring his face. "Do the words _elite_ and _personal strike force_ mean anything to you?"

"I'm in," red-eye agreed without hesitation. "But we have to name it after me."

"We're not naming it after anyone you nincompoop."

"What?"

"Are you serious or do you really want to cause tension between the rest of us?"

"... It'd be cool to name it after me."

Blue-eye scoffed and sneered. "Who would want to be in a force named after a gay?"

"I am _not_ gay you asswipe!"

"Funny, that's not how I see it."

"You must need a prescription you batty hag."

"I laugh at your feminine insult. Obviously gay."

"You piece of shit!"

Blue-eye laughed aloud, though his inner thoughts hardly reflected his actions.

'_I'll keep this my secret for now._'

* * *

"_No, I-... Who are you?" Before the other man could react, a kunai was at his neck threateningly. '_How the fuck did he get behind me without my knowing_?'_

_The other person faltered and took a step back, shock visible on his face. "You... you don't recognize me?"_

_Blue-eye narrowed his single visible eye and began cycling through his thoughts, all the while keeping his kunai at the man's vital point. The young man in front of him had dark brown hair and round blue eyes. He had never met anyone who looked like this. His smile was unsure and nervous, his eyes hopeful. Something felt wrong about the man's presence however... if he could just place it, the last time he'd felt such a chakra frequency would be from..._

"_You're a youkai."_

_His face became downcast. "So you don't remember my name?"_

"_I don't know you. I've never met you," blue-eye said bluntly, cutting to the chase. "Why do you keep insisting that I know you?"_

"_W-What? But, two-hundred years ago..."_

"_!"_

"_We'd thought you dead when you went off on your own and never returned..."_

"_I'm telling you, I'm not who you're thinking I am. For one, what was his name?"_

"_Uzumaki Naruto."_

_The silence was palpable._

"_... Yeah you've got the wrong person. One, my name's not Naruto. Two, I just arrived in this world four days ago. And three, I'd have never befriended a sissy wimp such as you."_

"_You came from the world of magic?" he asked, totally ignoring the insult. Either he was forgiving or he just couldn't _take a hint_. Wait... _magic_?_

"_The world of what?" Blue-eye glared at the youkai. "Magic doesn't exist."_

"_So chakra can exist but magic can't?"_

"_... Point taken. To answer your question, I obviously couldn't have come from this 'world of magic' if I don't even know what the hell it is."_

_"So you came from a different world?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_That's interesting... In history, there have only been records of two connected worlds."_

_Blue-eye laughed. "That's because the world we came from isn't connected to this one. We created an opening into this world to leave our own."_

"_Are you sure it's fine to tell me all of this? I _am _a stranger."  
_

_Blue-eye patted him on the back reassuringly. "You're a youkai. If you so much as let a single word of this out, you can consider yourself a fugitive." A wince from the brunette. "So, as long as we are traveling on this line of thought, tell me about this 'magic world'. And don't even think of leaving anything out." He grinned slyly; he had yet to let go of the kunai._

_The man coughed nervously. "Well, you see..."_

* * *

"Sierra-Zero-One to HQ, objective Kilo secured, all villagers in possession, over."

"HQ to Sierra-Zero-One, objective completion confirmation received. Supervise POWs until Task Force Foxtrot arrives, out."

"Alright," Naoto said as he turned to face his platoon, "defensive perimeter. I don't want any unknowns getting in or prisoners getting out. The task force is going to idle until Task Force Foxtrot arrives to handle the prisoners, and then Sierra and Echo will move to assault Matsue."

Kizuna let out a sigh that she'd been holding for a while. The first confrontation of the war had been easy, but there'd only been a skeleton crew guarding the village. She took a position along the line of POWs, where she could easily keep watch over any possible escapees.

One of the prisoners being escorted to the field outside the village stopped to glare at her. She was old; old enough to pass as her grandmother.

"Keep moving!" Chiaki, a fellow member of her platoon, nudged the wizened woman forward. As Four, he was the second Chuunin in their platoon.

"Children fighting wars," she scoffed. "You should feel ashamed of yourselves."

Kizuna sent back an icy cold stare, mouth set in a line. "You people brought it on yourselves by declaring war on us. If anything, you should blame your countries for getting everyone involved. We'll protect our land, regardless of our age."

"_Your _land?" she shrieked, "You took _our_ homes from us in the last war!" spat the woman. "We of Yama no Kuni had _our_ land conquered and our people forced out of _our_ ancestral lands by your oh-so-mighty _Uzumaki Naruto_." The name was spoken as if it were a curse. "That bastard who created Honoo, it's a good thing he died!."

"How dare y-" She made a beeline for the woman, only to have One step in front of her.

"Kizuna!" Naoto stared intently at her. "Don't get yourself worked up. I know how much you idolize that man, but this," he swept his arm, "is the raving of a pitiful person who can't let go of a grudge over a century old. This old bat is probably third generation. Not even the children of those who had their lands conquered, but the children of those children. They who have not witnessed should not speak out of turn."

"... Roger, taichou..." Kizuna sent a last glare at the woman who sneered back at her before moving on. The white-haired Uzumaki scowled before moving further into the village. The woman's words continued to trouble her. Why would someone harbor feelings over a century-and-a-half old? Why were _they_ the bad ones? '_We didn't make Naruto-sama do what he did. Why is it _our_ fault?_'

"Kizuna." Two was above her, crouching on the roof of the building she was next to. "You look down."

"I-It's nothing. Just a spat with some bigot who can't forget the past."

"It doesn't look like nothing. It looks like something else is troubling you."

"..."

"Keeping things in isn't good for your mental health. I'll leave it at that for now, but in the future, don't hesitate to say what's on your mind." With a grunt, Two got up and made for the center of the village.

'_These thoughts I've been having aren't something that can be resolved so easily..._'

The definition... the line between good and evil... Such questions rarely had an answer. As shinobi, they'd been taught that for all matters of purpose, the enemies of the village were to be considered 'evil'. It was the common 'everyone views evil differently' point of view. And yet, following that train of thought, everyone in the world was evil in the eyes of others. If evil could be properly defined – fat chance of it though – conflict would find itself a much smaller issue than it was now. As the history books stated, the Fourth Great Shinobi War had broken out with Iwa, Konoha, and Suna on one side, Kiri and Kumo on the other. Many of the smaller shinobi nations had aligned themselves with the Kiri-Kumo alliance.

The violence back then had been initiated by Kiri and Kumo, as it was now being initiated by the other countries. Yet, Honoo – the combined countries of Iwa, Konoha, and Suna – was made out to be the antagonist; the evil, imperialistic people that so many people believed them to be. Perhaps if Honoo had lost, it might have been another matter, but they hadn't.

Uzumaki Naruto, then having disappeared for several years, returned in all his glory, leading armies to victory after victory. After the war, he'd disappeared again, never to be heard from again. Some say that as a jinchuuriki, he had not died and was still living in a remote area. Others said that word from sailors spoke of a titanic battle in the north that had caused that area of the ocean to become unsafe to travel in. Some speculated that it had been Uzumaki Naruto; as a jinchuuriki he wielded power unimaginable by normal human beings. The speculations went on and on. One thing was for certain: The founder of Uzumaki had not been seen for over a century-and-a-half. In that time, his sole child had expanded the clan through a series of early marriages. The clan's size bloomed, and in the present days, there were well over a hundred clan members.

Possibly because of the Kyuubi, every Uzumaki was born with great combat potential. Large chakra reserves, a quick mind, and a fierce determination to succeed.

She sighed. Of course, that determination also affected other branches of life, the most annoying among them being suitors for marriage.

A grimace.

It's all good when an Uzumaki never gives up on the battlefield, but when they won't stop pestering her for her hand in marriage, it's more than just a simple annoyance; it's _torture_.

"One to Sierra-Zero-One, Task Force Foxtrot has arrived. It is now Oh-Eight-Fifty-Two. Task Forces Sierra and Echo to make their way to Point Mike before Ten-Hundred. Assault at Eleven-Hundred. Form up in the center of Point Kilo, out."

"Well, I'm already here."

"As am I." Two nodded his head at her. "You seem to be out of your funk."

"Like I said, it was nothing."

"As you wish," he replied with a smirk.

"Tsk." She turned around huffily, but failed to hide the smile appearing on her face. Her teammates were as much a family to her as her own clan, and they knew her as well as her closest relatives did. They never failed to bring her out of her depression whenever it set in. "Thanks for worrying about me."

"Not a problem."

The rest of Task Force Sierra began trickling into the village square. Not one of these shinobi failed to miss Task Force Echo passing by on the rooftops, off to secure the next waypoint for Sierra. Then, the two squads, a total of forty shinobi, would assault Matsue. Many of the shinobi present were becoming anxious as a result. By the end of the day, it would be determined who the first set of casualties of the war would be: them or the enemy.

Two noticed Kizuna gazing at one shinobi praying in a corner to whatever god he believed in. He could see her face darken as she began thinking about how the man probably had family waiting at home, how the man was probably praying for his own safety to be able to return to them. He clapped her on the back roughly, startling her.

"Calm down. We're not going to die today. We'll all return home safely."

"... You can't know for sure."

"I may not, but this is the first real attack of the war. Chances of any of us dying are slim because the enemy _isn't expecting us_."

"..."

"Your cousin Kimiko would laugh at the state you're in, you know. She might be reckless in comparison to you, but you're both kunoichi. You became one knowing you'd have to fight and kill, and die someday, did you not?"

"Yes..."

"What better way to die than for our ideals? Our village? I sure as hell don't want to die, but I'd rather not die any other way, if you get what I'm saying."

"I understand." She seemed to lighten up a bit.

"You're probably just nervous since this is a pivotal moment," Two suggested. "This attack will buy time for the entire country, and it's quite an ordeal. It's only obvious to be nervous and a bit scared. It's alright to be scared, because only through fear can courage be found. Be courageous today, Kizuna."

He patted her on the back and made for Naoto, who had just shown up.

"Alright, everyone accounted for?"

"Two here, over."

"Four here, over."

"Three here, over."

"Presence acknowledged. One, out."

Naoto met up with his fellow platoon captains and after a short discussion, nodded his head.

"Platoon Thirteen, we're moving out. It's time to pay a visit to our little friends in Matsue."

"Roger!""Roger!""Roger!"

* * *

"Report." The Hokage sat behind her desk, hands folded and on the desktop.

The messenger Chuunin in front of her nodded quickly and began reading off the scroll. "Mission success. All objectives met within timeframe. All enemies neutralized, all noncombatants in possession. Zero casualties. Returning home."

She nodded. "Good. Good. This is a good start to the war." Turning her chair, she waved her hand lazily. "You're dismissed."

The Chuunin bowed before taking his leave.

As the door clicked closed, she sighed. First a declaration of war, and then foreign guests. What next? '_If I'd known that being Hokage meant I had to deal with all of this paperwork and on top of that organize a war effort, I would've refused the offer... At least we got a lucky break just now. The enemy was too overconfident; they placed too much faith in what _they _thought _we_ would do. They thought they'd have plenty of time to prepare an assault while we'd sit here meandering away at building defenses. Bastards..._'

A knock.

"Come in."

There was no sound.

She turned around to see the man she'd met earlier that day and another.

Blue-eye turned a questioning gaze to red-eye, who merely smirked. A 'just wait and see' smirk.

'_The bastard. I bet he doesn't even realize how sick and demented his smirks are._'

"..."

"..."

"..."

"What do you want?" The Hokage closed her eyes and began rubbing her temple. "One nuisance after another..."

"I hope that I'm not the nuisance," blue-eye piped up quickly, eager to break the ice. "I agree that my friend here _is_ quite a nuisance, however."

Red-eye jabbed him hard in the ribs, causing blue-eye to double over for a few seconds. "This morning we had a little mental chat."

"I recall it most vividly," she growled. "It caused quite the headache afterwards."

"I apologize for that inconvenience, but this time we come with a request... Which will likely cause more headaches in the future, and I will apologize in advance for that." Red-eye bowed slightly. "While unnecessary, the fulfillment of our request could make all of our lives easier."

"And your request?"

"To be made official shinobi of Honoogakure no Sato, with certain privileges that otherwise would not be granted to normal shinobi."

"... For what reasons?" The Hokage looked wary and she could see that red-eye's companion was just as surprised as she was.

"Well, this is quite a surprise," chuckled blue-eye, warming up to the plan. "I had no idea my friend here was trying to advance our plans so quickly. Nevertheless, given that you spoke of a conversation earlier, you likely know our circumstances to an extent." A nod. "Good, that simplifies things. As you know, we fled our home and went into hiding. We've been fighting our entire lives. While I wasn't originally planning on joining your shinobi ranks, and thus join the war effort, we need something to occupy our time from combat withdrawal, whether it be missions or just plain teaching. I'm not one to deny opportunities, and if one happens to come up, who am I to deny our involvement in this war? And what better solution to both our problems than to add two excellent shinobi to the roster and satisfy our own needs at the same time? I can guarantee complete loyalty until the day comes where we must move again."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"On a scale of one to ten, where would you place a Jounin, a Kage, and yourselves?" asked the Hokage after several minutes of hard thinking.

"Assuming that we'd be at ten, a Kage would be at seven through nine, depending on their skill, and a Jounin would be a two through four."

"So you're saying you could claim victory against a newbie Jounin and two elite Jounin?"

"That sounds about right, though it also depends on their elemental affinity and other characteristics, but it's a good rough estimate. From what I've heard, Uzumaki Naruto could go toe to toe with me though."

"Oh? You say you could fight evenly against our nation's greatest hero?"

"Just from what I've heard about his abilities, secondhand. I've yet to actually meet him if he's even alive to this day, so..."

"It would be rather awkward to introduce a completely unknown Uchiha into the roster, however..."

"You don't need to put me in as an Uchiha," red-eye interrupted. "That would cause too much trouble for both of us. I'll go by the name Kanno Akagan."

"I'll go by the name Ryougi Minato."

"I would never normally do this, but we _are_ short on manpower and could use two extra shinobi." She sighed. "Welcome aboard, I'll get the papers ready and filed as soon as possible."

"Thank you very much," the two said in unison, before leaving as silently as they'd come.

"..."

The only sound that remained was the uniform tick-tock of the clock on the wall.

"What have I gotten myself into?" the Hokage muttered.

* * *

**Sierra-Zero-One**

One – Kanzaki Naoto ; Jounin

Two – ? ? ; Jounin

Three – Uzumaki Kizuna ; Chuunin

Four – ? Chiaki ; Chuunin

**Guests From Another World**

Blue-eye – Ryougi Minato ; Undetermined

Red-eye – Kanno (Uchiha) Akagan ; Undetermined

Long-range Specialist – Himuro Akari ; Undetermined

Close-range Specialist – Hyuuga Hana ; Undetermined

Mid-range Specialist – ? Hana ; Undetermined

**Kizuna's "Family"**

Uchiha Ryouichi – Jounin (ANBU)

Daiken Kensuke – Jounin

Uzumaki Kimiko – Chuunin

Uzumaki Yuki – Jounin


	3. It All Comes Together

Unbeta'd – Chapter 3

(After posting this chapter, I'll resume work on Black Lightning and Tsuchi no Kuni.)

(Also know that if things don't make sense, you can just go and tell me and I'll see what's wrong and fix it. I hate being inconsistent.)

* * *

Knock Knock Knock

Someone was knocking on the door, Minato realized as he woke up groggily, mentally stating the obvious.

Groaning, Minato shrugged off his blanket and struggled out of his bed. A quick glance at his digital clock's display showed that it was three in the morning; two hours after he'd finally fallen asleep. Maybe he shouldn't have fallen into such a lazy routine, but he couldn't help it; the first moment of peace and rest available to him after so long... who _wouldn't _take advantage of that? The only problem? Uninvited and in several cases unwanted guests.

What was worse, when he opened the door he came face to face with the unwanted guest he _least_ wished to see. Private enemy numero uno.

"Hi!" the brunette youkai greeted cheerfully, waving.

The blond stared at him impassively for a few moments before closing the door roughly. "It's too early for this shit," Minato growled, fists tightening and teeth clenching. He _really _didn't want to start the day off with a murder. He wanted to sleep in, therefore his body wanted to sleep in and as a result his thought processes were slower than usual and Minato couldn't bother himself to contemplate a solution to his problem.

Meanwhile, the youkai frowned at the sheer rudeness of the act that had been inflicted upon him. If the blond didn't want to deal with him, that was too bad. He'd take matters into his own hands and make himself be dealt with. With a thought, he immaterialized and slipped through the door as if it didn't exist. Once in, he returned to his corporeal form and dusted himself off at an afterthought. "How rude of you to shut the door on a guest."

Minato froze halfway back to his bed, grinding his teeth in annoyance. Perhaps a lack of interaction with perfectly normal people back home had made his temper thinner... Whatever the case, right now his patience was being sorely tested.

"When I turn around, I had better not see you there, or by god I will place around my room a seal so powerful that the act of being forced out of this space will fling you dozens of kilometers."

"... I'll come back in a few hours then."

And then there was silence.

Sighing, Minato returned to his bed. Now he understood how the Hokage had felt. Nuisances, they'd been called; nuisances they probably had been. Now he had to deal with his own. Somehow the youkai had gotten it into his head that he was an amnesiac and that he actually was Uzumaki Naruto of over two-centuries of age. '_Pfft, fat chance._' Now the youkai was showing up wherever he went. It was borderline stalking, and he definitely didn't swing that way.

He'd stayed up to keep an eye out for the albino who lived a few doors down after he'd noticed she'd been deployed that morning. A rather wasted effort, considering that he and Akagan had been eavesdropping when a Chuunin was reading out the battle report. Still, he couldn't help but feel as if the girl would be an important chess piece in the future. Though having disregarded Akagan's finds earlier, he nevertheless went through the Uzumaki clan records and discovered that the albino was a member of that clan; Uzumaki Kizuna, Chuunin.

Kizuna meant 'bonds'. It was something that had brought him sadness when those he'd bonded with died in the invasion. Now this world was entering an age of strife, and out of all things this girl with that name had made an impression on him. '_Coincidence? I think not._' Coincidence was an excuse used by those too pathetic to stand up and do something about it.

Though... chess piece or not, if Kizuna couldn't survive this ordeal, then there was no point in placing importance in her existence. The weak would be weeded out and only the strong would remain. That is how the world works and always will work. Cruel as it sounded, it was the harsh truth.

Minato yawned, but then realized he no longer felt sleepy.

Great. How was he supposed to go back to sleep now?

Damn that youkai...

* * *

Akagan heard a sneeze from behind him. Perplexed, he turned a corner just sharply enough to get the guy in his peripheral vision before he lost sight. A brunette. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was being followed. He _did_ know better, and it was very unlikely that news of their entrance into the shinobi ranks was even known by the shinobi populace yet, so it was most likely related to his partner Minato. Coincidentally, the blond had mentioned meeting an annoying brunette the day previous, convinced that he was an amnesiac.

Minato had a very narrow and specific view of annoyance; to be called annoying by Minato meant the brunette was _truly_ annoying, and he had no intention of being spied upon by someone like that.

He imagined a creepy smile on the brunette's face and resisted the urge to shiver.

"Think happy thoughts," he muttered under his breath repeatedly. Occupied with his male stalker as he was, Akagan failed to notice a certain Uchiha walking in the opposite direction.

Ryouichi was off duty and out of uniform. Whistling softly as he walked the streets, he grinned as the chill of the early morning air embraced him. His current heading: the village walls to watch the sun rise. This was why he loved this place; despite being named the Hidden Village of the Flame, the village was surrounded by forest and the air at this time of the year was cool and healthily fresh. The village was still cloaked in shadow with tiny vestiges of sunlight peeking over the wall. Unlike when it was bustling with activity, Ryouichi very much adored the sleeping village for its unnatural serenity.

He'd have to savor it while he could. In the worst-case scenario, the village and the surrounding area would be razed to the ground. In the best-case scenario, only the forest would burn. The forests would disappear no matter how the war progressed. It would be impossible for Honoo to keep on the offensive, and some time or another they'd have to defend, and against massive enemy formations no less. Honoogakure was the first and last 'defensive fortress' in the entire country. It was a pity, considering how militarized Honoo had been under the command of Uzumaki Naruto. Now the only fortress not abandoned during peacetime was here.

His bright mood darkened. '_What a great way to start the day, thinking about the war. Shit._' He took a deep breath and then exhaled. "What a farce... You can't have endless peace when you subjugate all the other countries but don't conquer them completely. If Naruto-sama were here, I don't doubt he'd have placed all those countries under his heel. Tightly."

...

The first sign of insanity, talking to oneself. Great. Another sigh. "I doubt the Uchiha insanity trait stems from schizophrenia anyway." Ever since strict Sharingan usage limits were placed and enforced, the signs of memory overflow had decreased significantly. Even still, he and the others of his generation still got those 'looks' every now and then. Tch. Worrywarts.

'_I wonder what Kizuna's feeling,_' he pondered as the sun rose over the horizon. '_Participating in the first official battle and mission of the war. I hope you didn't freeze under the pressure._' As a younger sister figure in his life, Kizuna's safety was of great importance to Ryouichi. She'd always been so bright and energetic, a bit rebellious and talented to boot. Now they were going to enter the cold, cruel world of war and he worried for her health, physical and mental.

Unfortunately... in the end, his loyalty belonged to the village over all else, no matter it be Kizuna or the Hokage. That was how he and the other ANBU operated, and that was how it had been since the command of Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

"Ren."

"Yes, uncle?" the red-haired youkai responded in a monotone voice. "Do you require something of me?"

"No, not I. Someone wants to see you."

"..."

"Do you want to meet him right now?"

"Yes, it's fine. Bring him in please."

A few moments of quiet.

"Greetings, Ren-sama," the new man greeted. "It is quite a pleasure to meet you, soon to be the head of this fabulous youkai clan."

"State your business immediately or leave now," Ren warned.

"My, how serious," the other mused aloud. "That's fine. I'm here with a proposal to you, the clan head. A proposal from another world."

"Another world?" echoed the redhead. "The magic world?"

"... No."

Ren kept his eyes closed and began to concentrate. Not the magic world. What other world was there? Assuming that there was a connection to the magic world, that could mean that there were countless other worlds, different only in that a connection and by extension a path couldn't be forged between this world and the others.

The guest began to smile as Ren's thoughts began to take shape and form. '_It seems he is much brighter than I thought he'd be. Excellent._'

Ren sighed and rubbed his temple slowly. "Your offer?"

"Power."

"Power?"

"Yes, power. Power enough to make this youkai clan the strongest on the continent."

Ren opened his eyes, narrowed in suspicion. "What's in this for you?"

"You should be familiar with the name Uzumaki Naruto."

The redhead tensed as the hood of his guest's cloak shook from his chuckling. "There is no youkai who does not know of the jailer for Kyuubi who came to this continent some centuries ago. Why?"

"Do you believe he died?"

"It is common belief that he is."

"Do _you_, personally, believe that he is dead?" pushed the cloaked man.

"... No. Firstly, it would be difficult to overpower Uzumaki to begin with. Secondly, even if that were possible, he was an expert tactician not to be taken lightly. Thirdly, his super-regenerative abilities surpassed even some of the hardiest youkai on the continent. Even if wounds were inflicted, Uzumaki would be hard-pressed to die."

"A logical conclusion, and a correct one. Yes, he is still alive."

"... What does this have to do with the topic?"

"You see... What I want in return for granting you unrivaled power, I want you to hunt down and kill Uzumaki Naruto once and for all."

Ren slammed the wall with his palm. "Even with this power you speak of, finding Uzumaki is an ordeal in itself, and killing him another one. Also, it is very difficult to take your words at face-value. How can you get me this power and even if that power does exist, why not use it yourself? What are the side effects, the catches? How can I trust you?"

"I have no need for trust, just mutual agreement. I cannot use the power myself because my body is much too frail to house such immense energies. Among the sentient beings of the world, the youkai of the three main clans are the most resilient, and of these clans, the lord's line possesses the strongest of these characteristics. As the only male among the heirs to the three great clans, I considered you to be the better pick."

"Why male?"

"Because a rather small side effect of the introduction of the power into your veins is an increase in aggression, which is more pronounced in males but also more controllable in a direct relationship with the amount of will you possess. It is common that males have much greater will than do females, though there are exceptions... Regardless, these and many other requirements were met by you, Ren-sama."

"... Why now? Why not two centuries ago when Uzumaki was hunted by daemons and at his weakest?"

"The time was not ripe, the power offered to you now not yet mature."

"..."

"I'll leave for the day," the man headed towards the sliding door. "I will return in a week's time for your answer."

"..."

* * *

"Hot... so hot..."

"Complaining about the heat's only making it worse," growled the Hyuuga tiredly. "We seriously need to find some water soon, or we're going to die."

"..."

Both Akari and her Hyuuga companion were on their last legs. Having trudged through the endless desert for four days, each was exhausted from lack of food and water.

"Human bodies... are seventy-percent water," Akari rasped.

"What's... your point?"

"If I kill you now... I'll have access... to food... and water..."

Despite her tiredness, the Hyuuga scrunched her face up in disgust. "You're so vile... Hard to believe... you're female..."

"Shut... the fuck up... bitch..." the redhead broke out into a hacking cough. "Watch your back... you're looking... more satiable... by the minute..."

"Bring it, slut..."

"Water... need... water..."

* * *

Minato lay on the uncomfortable lump of whatever it was made of called his bed. Not that it was a bad thing; He'd gotten used to sleeping in the worst type of environments back home. Compared to that, this meager bed was quite the boon. No, the reason he couldn't go to sleep was because of the incessant snoring coming from either apartment around his own. Dear god, what he would give to be able to block out his advanced sense of hearing for a good night's sleep.

Back home, there was not even a trace of natural ambiance. Anything that was alive was killed. Plants, animals, insects... As a result, that world lost its ambiance and was filled with an eerie silence. At first the utter silence had been strange, but now the noise threatened to overwhelm him.

Even the food here was strange. They'd lived off rations for as long as they could remember, he and his group. Whichever burnt-out village they went to, there was always an abundant supply of rations in emergency storehouses which had never been touched, for the invasion had progressed so rapidly that very little resistance could be set up. In a way, their sense of taste had been desensitized, only in the fact that they ate the same thing daily. Eating normal meals after so long was a drastic change that he was still trying to get used to. Foods were too sweet, too sour, too bitter, too salty... an utter lack of taste had made everything in a normal meal taste like 'too much'. Minato truly pitied himself on that note; He'd loved food as a child, and now he couldn't enjoy much more than rations... _yet_... He had no doubts he'd eventually become used to this food, and he'd be hard-pressed to go back to eating rations once supplies began to cut short because of the war.

Damn his fortune.

'_Ah... all this thinking is making me hungry._'

He took a glance at his digital clock, noting that it was four-thirty. He still hadn't forgotten the unwelcome intrusion into his home earlier. God help that youkai if he did that one more time...

'_After all that war, I try to settle down for a while, to live a normal life for the time being, and then I get stalked by someone who believes I'm experiencing identity crisis and get sucked into yet another war, albeit a far more pleasant one._'

Damn his fortune.

Damn fate. Destiny be damned.

"I'm going to die someday," he muttered aloud. "Stupid, fucking prophecy... Spend the rest of my life fighting. Like hell. I'll win this war, and when I die I'll die peacefully. You'll see. I won't die in the gutter along with the dogs. I'll defy my fate and get through this war alive, for the sake of all the sacrifices that were made by my comrades."

Sighing, he rose from the bed and dressed in common Honoogakure-style clothes; light-colored shirt and trousers.

'_Like I'll get any more sleep this morning._'

'_**Shut the fuck up,**_' growled his inner demon. '_**You might not be able to, but some demons are trying to **__**sleep here, ingrate!**_'

'_Suck it up like you've done for all these years,_' Minato retorted mentally. '_Really, all you ever do is whine._'

'_**Flea-bitten maggot, know your place. So ungrateful to I who granted you the power to fight back against the daemons. If I did not know better, I would have thought you were still that puny, cheeky little brat you were when we first met.**_'

"Those days are _long _gone," whispered the cyclops fiercely, eyes narrowed in pain and sadness, before he closed the door.

* * *

"... _God!_" Kizuna groaned as her eyesight refocused. "Can those buffoons snore any louder?!" She spared a look at her alarm clock. Five in the morning. "Now I know why this apartment was so much cheaper than the others. Damn real estate agent conned me!" she muttered. Deciding she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Kizuna dressed quickly and left for the rooftop. She passed by the blond whose room she had mistaken for her own, who did not offer a greeting to her as he slouched his way the opposite direction.

It had been the night before the mission – the first violence of the war. As she stood on top of the apartment complex, the negative feelings from the battle returned in a furious rush that not even the slow, beautiful sunrise could abate. Kizuna heaved a heavy sigh. She'd taken her first lives yesterday, and it was a cruel thing to know that she would have to take more. All those newbies, herself included, believing that what they were doing was right; that fighting this war would be exciting and full of heroism. Thinking back on it now, she believed that none of those were right.

She examined her right hand. This was the hand that had so easily killed yesterday... She could still feel the sensation of blood and gore fountaining from the body of the man she'd decapitated, falling like rain around her. She could still remember how his body had fallen slowly, first onto his knees, then onto his front. It was a grisly sight and feeling, standing in a pool of a living being's life fluids. As the heart continued to beat and spray out blood for the last few seconds before the disconnection of brain and body took total effect, the arterial blood shot out during each beat. That had been her first kill, but certainly not her last.

Hypnotized by the kill as she was, it hadn't kept her from avoiding the kunai thrust of a Genin. She'd deftly switched the backhanded grip of the kunai she'd used to decapitate the first shinobi and driven it into the unfortunate teenager's gut, twisted it, then slashed out, effectively disemboweling him. He'd tried to grab at his intestines in a vain attempt to keep them from completely falling out, as the pain of the injury began to register and he began screaming for his parents. His two teammates had such rage on their faces as the boy's voice slowly faded away until his head lolled, eyes empty and without life.

The single girl had screamed in anger and charged her, and Kizuna had calmly picked up a katana from the weapon-littered floor and with expert precision tossed it like a boomerang, spinning vertically. It had impaled that Genin headfirst into the wall. The last Genin cried out in anguish as he registered the deaths of what had been his team and best friends. He, too, charged her, only to become littered with a dozen shuriken moments later.

Her heartbeat sped up and her breathing quickened as she remembered these details. In two short minutes, she had obliterated an entire Genin team; three young teens who had gotten to know and respect and like one another.

Miraculously, the second Genin had survived despite being pierced through the eye socket, the katana having narrowly missed the brain.

"..."

Kizuna had approached her slowly and the two had made eye contact. The Uzumaki had been able to see her own tortured expression reflected from the Genin's remaining eye. The young girl was crying. Crying at the loss of her friends, crying at the futility of war, crying at the pitiful expression of her would-be killer, understanding that her killer had never wanted this; that she would live with this moment etched into her mind like a curse. The girl had smiled sadly, tears streaming down her face, as she had uttered the words, "...Kill me..."

On that day, she had obliterated an entire Genin team, and she would never forget their screams, their cries, those sensations. As the task forces had left, they had left all the dead in a rotting pile, with Task Force Alpha – the ANBU – laying in wait at the demolished ninja village to kill anyone that attempted to give the bodies a proper burial or burning. Their enemies would get no such privileges for their dead.

Her eyes watered as she remembered her own Genin days, those happy, carefree times. Those Genin she killed would no longer hang out together, no longer poke fun at each other, or enjoy life together. They were dead, and they couldn't do anything with each other anymore. Tears began to fall as she took in what she'd done, her breath hitched, and she began crying.

* * *

Ren paced impatiently in his room, attempting to come up with a solution to his dilemma. Seven days. Seven days were all he had until _he –_ or _it_ – returned for his answer. As the only male heir and future leader of the Shugoryuu clan, it was up to him to make decisions that would benefit his people and at the same time not attract the displeasure of the two other great youkai clans lest war spark from those negative feelings. Yes, one wrong choice and the entire clan would suffer. His was an extraordinary burden, Ren had realized. It made him respect his late father that much more for being able to shoulder such a burden.

'_Unfortunate, that he should be presented with such a case so quickly._' Shugoryuu Maki, eldest sibling and as such Ren's older sister, watched in silence as the redhead paced fervently. '_If he makes a mistake here, the entire clan could be doomed by this... _demon_... If refusing this demon is the wrong thing to do, then another clan will seize that power and use it to claim dominance over the other youkai clans. On __the other hand, if taking the offer is the wrong choice, then Ren will either be manipulated by the demon or demons or his target, Uzumaki Naruto, will destroy our clan with a vengeance should Ren fail._' She sipped her tea calmly as her brother let out a withering sigh which did not befit his position or age.

"Maki-oneesama, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

"It is much too early to ask me of my opinion, Ren. The decision is a difficult one that requires a calm head, and it does not need to be finalized today." They stared at each other for several seconds. "I have just one piece of advice, younger brother. Whichever choice you make will have its risks. This means that ultimately the driving force behind your decision should be whichever choice's drawbacks can be dealt with the easiest. For this, we must be patient and examine every possibility."

She said all of this softly, yet at the same time in an authoritative tone. Despite being a female and of lesser strength, her intellect was unmatched amongst the three Shugoryuu siblings, and coupled with her ability to remain calm even during a crisis, her opinion always held high regard in the clan.

Clearly at the end of his wits for the time being, Ren excused himself from the room hastily. If his sister had said that, then he would take her word for it. She had yet to let the clan down in any way. The Shugoryuu manor was built in a traditional style; a style of architecture that was slowly disappearing from the human continent, if any of the views from his crystal ball were to be trusted. Coincidentally, there were three crystal balls in existence. One was kept with the Shugoryuu clan, the second in the human continent, and the third in the realm of the gods which they used to keep an eye on matters in the mortal realm. Ren wondered what kind of human was using the ball and to what ends, but ceased his musings as he stopped to admire the blooming sakura tree planted in the courtyard.

"So short-lived," he murmured, "yet so beautiful." No matter how many years he gazed at it, it never ceased to amaze him how something could bring such calm simply by looking at the blooming cherry blossoms. There were many such trees in the human continent, whereas the tree in the youkai continent was the only one of its kind. As such, while he knew humans would take these trees for granted, his family treasured it. The sakura symbolized the fleeting nature of life, which rang true among the humans but also did not exclude youkai, as he remembered his own father's short life.

Moving on, he waved lazily at the gate guards, who stepped aside as he passed to exit the manor grounds. They bowed slightly as he did so, though he had told them repeatedly how it irked him. He could forgive them; it was their job, and he supposed the little bit of difference in their monotone lives guarding the gate did them some amount of good. Ren thanked them for their hard work as they resumed their positions, to which they smiled lightly. He gazed out. All the way to the horizon was lush, green land. These fertile lands were occupied by lesser youkai clans that farmed the fields and supplied food for their own clans and for the dragon clan as tithes. This sight was a different kind of beauty compared to the sakura tree, and it reminded him of the true weight of his responsibilities. But this did not sadden him, for looking out in pride at his nation's lands, he was also reminded of the faith that the lesser clans had in him.

The youkai clans of the three youkai nations were fiercely loyal to their leaders, who for millennia had sought not to better themselves but instead to better their subjects. The three great youkai clans were made up of the Shugoryuu dragon clan, the Tenko fox clan, and the Akasora ogre clan. While rivals, it had always been in their interests to maintain peace between the great youkai clans because a war between any two clans would shake the roots of the power structure that had been carefully maintained through the millennia. Ren hoped that whatever choice he made, the ogre clan would support it. The fox clan always did whatever it pleased as long as the balance of powers remained the same. Ren couldn't rely on their volatile and petty nature.

Two centuries ago, the undisputed lord of youkai Kyuubi had rampaged through the human lands in acts of violence that had shocked both human and youkai alike. When word arrived that Kyuubi had been stopped, the youkai of the southern continent had been both elated and at the same time terrified. That Kyuubi's rampage had been halted was elating as the whole of youkai had long ago agreed to minimize and in many cases completely end actions and violence towards humans, whether to spook them or feed on them. On the other hand it had been terrifying exactly _because_ Kyuubi had been stopped by the humans. Kyuubi, the most powerful youkai in existence. If Kyuubi could be defeated, how would the youkai be able to fend off a war with the humans, if it ever came to that?

As a result, all seafaring youkai at the time had been tasked with guarding the border. That is, until a human entered the lands undetected. It had not been by ship, but rather, through a complex seal array that had 'teleported' the human to the junction connected to the three daiyoukai clans' territories. If that had not been enough of an insult, the Tenko clan sided with the human, offering sanctuary and their most well-guarded secrets.

Why was the Tenko clan supporting the human, and by extension working against their fellow youkai? This had brought the continent to the brink of war. It wasn't until the then Tenko clan leader Kyuuzo called a meeting between the daiyoukai clans that the truth was revealed. To think that the human was the vessel of Kyuubi, who hadn't been killed but rather sealed. What was more, it was discovered that the human – a boy – had been fleeing from an organization seeking to harness the powers of the nine youkai lords. It had been a wild tale, and none could scarcely believe that the first seven had been captured and the eighth having barely escaped the fate of its fellows.

However, the daiyoukai clans were not ones to back away from a potential catastrophe. Recognizing the human vessel's potential, the status of the youkai sealed within him, and the turmoil storming through the human continent, it became obvious to the Shugoryuu and Akasora clans the reasoning behind the Tenko clan's actions, and it was unanimously agreed upon to rally the youkai clans to bring peace to the world. The rest, is simply history. Countless youkai were lost, immense sacrifices made, until at long last peace was achieved and a mighty new human nation forged. For two-hundred years, that peace had persisted, but was now threatening to shatter.

'_Peace... it is far too delicate for a world as rough as ours._'

The end of the last war had seen a tearing of the fabric of reality, so gruesome it was. This had led the way for demons to inhabit the lands, slowly but surely spreading seeds of rebellion and chaos. Now, the human nations were warring again, and the demons lurking about in the shadows ready to gobble up everything in one fell swoop. Everything that they had accomplished those two-hundred years ago were on the verge of becoming meaningless.

What was worse, the _gods_ had seen fit to send visions to the three clans and their leaders; visions of a dark future triggered by the entrance of beings that should not be. Just recently, the Yukionna clan to the far south, near the world's South Pole, had reported sightings of a lone human traveling north, seemingly unaffected by the subzero temperatures which could chill even the members of the Shugoryuu clan, who from birth to death had powerful flames burning within their bodies.

"Brother!"

Ren was snapped out of his deep reverie in a single moment and turned quickly – but not quickly enough – just in time to change the flying tackle's target from his back to his stomach.

**WHAM**

Brought to the ground by the youngest Shugoryuu sibling, Ren had the urge to sigh heavily and smile fondly at the same time. Tsukirin – or just Rin for short – smiled brightly at him. She was the jewel of his life, and Ren doted on her whenever possible. All dragons had a color that did not necessarily denote their element, but rather their level of power. White was the rarest and by far the most powerful. Rin had long, flowing white hair and bright ruby-red eyes. She was a white dragon, said to be the manifestation of the hope and future of the clan. While several decades old, her human form had just entered the pubescent stage with the outward appearance of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old human. Old by mortal standards and young by their own, she had been judged too young to take the mantle of clan leader, and thus it had been passed down to him. As her elder brother, it had been agreed upon that as her role model, Ren was perfect for preparing Rin for her eventual duties.

Among the youkai, dragons aged the most slowly but also mated the least frequently. An aveage dragon could live for up to one millennium, while the stronger and more resilient ones could live up to two or three. Trivially, it was the intermingling between the youkai and humans many millennia ago that led to the spread of the variety of vibrant hair colors that now persisted in the human race.

Filing the trivia away, Ren picked up his sister and placed her on his shoulders as they smiled at each other.

Seven days left until the demon returned.

Seven days until he had to make the first and most important decision of his life.

Seven days and his life may very well be forfeit.

His beloved younger sister's well-being rode on the outcome of his decision. For her, he would not fail.

* * *

She strode through the dark passageways. Silently. Dangerously. Her turquoise eyes strayed this way and that, observing every nook and cranny for anything out of the ordinary. Seeing none, she did not pause on her journey. Her magenta hair flowed behind her as she traveled briskly. It was not her work ethic to be late to anything. She paused to let a commander pass her. It paid to respect those with power, after all.

She had once been an assassin. A ninja. Kunoichi. She had been the best there was, following the shinobi rules and mission orders to the dot. Logic drove her, and when the bowels of hell opened up and the terrors of the underground spread across the world, it had only been logical to switch to the winning side. She had betrayed former comrades, innocents, and friends alike. She had been a free agent then, allowed to do as she pleased as long as it benefited _their_ goal. But now, she was being called; being given an order. She felt strange. If anything, she would say that she was nervous, and it was most certainly a situation in which nervousness would be natural. But no. Her body shivered as she stood upon the massive arched door.

She was not nervous.

She was excited.

"Welcome, human."

Straining her eyes, she could make out the faint outline of a being. The silhouette pulsed. Intangible. Incorporeal. She recognized it, or rather, _him_.

"It is an honor, my lord," she iterated perfectly as she got down on one knee. The being shook his head impatiently.

"There is no time for theatrics today, human. Your name..." he paused. "It is Miya, correct?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Then Miya..." another pause. "I have a very _special_ job for you. It is not unlike what you have been doing all along, but the stakes... The stakes are higher. _Much _higher."

"If it is a challenge you speak of, I am ready, my lord."

"No! You are not ready!" the being hissed. "The group you are infiltrating for this mission is far more sly than any you have ever encountered before. Far more suspicious, intelligent, and powerful. While I am confined to this incorporeal form, I cannot do anything to them. However, you _can_. You possess a corporeal human body, which makes you the most suitable option."

"Who, my lord?"

"Take up your scythe, Miya, for your opponents this time are those who become enraged at their loss. You go up against the Fury of the Fallen!" Miya's eyes widened. "And most particularly, your target is their leader." His shape blurred and exploded outwards, and his calm tone changed into a screaming fury. "THE LEADER OF THE FALLEN, THE ONE THEY CALL **KONOHA NO KIROI SENKOU.**" The voice distorted as the silhouette grew larger still, glowing red eyes piercing through the darkness, through her very being. "**THAT SCUM THAT DARES TO OPPOSE MY ARMIES, WHO HAS CONTINUED TO EVADE CAPTURE AND CONTINUES TO FOIL MY PLANS!!!**" The chaotic dance of the silhouette ceased and its size shrunk. The new silhouette took a new form. Pure, utter darkness. It was as if she were staring into a black hole. Two sharp, red eyes glowed in the darkness, and as the being spoke, so too did a red glow emanate from his mouth. "**Your mission, my dear Miya,**" he said in a soft, deadly tone, "**is to infiltrate the Fallen and gain the trust of the Kiroi Senkou. Only when this is done can I grasp victory.**"

"My lord, is there not any other way to victory?" She dared to question.

"**Yes, there is. However, these alternative methods require time; time which they could use to create a power base and consolidate themselves. This must never be allowed to happen. A portal has been prepared for you, and the necessary files gathered. You must blend in perfectly among the natives of this new world. The moment you gain their attention, you gain also their suspicions. ****Tread lightly,**" he handed her a sheathed katana, "**and carry a potent weapon. Do not kill him. When the time comes, my armies will enter the world and march on the humans, and it is then that you will hand him over to me.**"

"Yes, my lord. I understand. I am to leave you to him. But... if I may dare ask..."

"**Speak.**"

"Why must preparations be made on this end?"

"**... I suppose I can indulge you in this. The world in which they have sought refuge in is home to powerful beings, and is furthermore linked to several worlds that, with their combined might, could hope to stand against our army as it is.**"

"So then..."

"**Yes. We are developing a countermeasure of such magnitude that once finished, none will be able to stand against us. It is a long and complicated process that could take years, and this is why you are being sent to pave the way. If the Kiroi Senkou is betrayed and unable to rally the denizens of those worlds together, then victory will easily be ours.**"

"I... am impressed by your foresight, my lord."

"**Go now. Remember that failure is not an option.**"

"I have not once forgotten, my lord." She knelt once more, head bowed, before making a hand seal and disappearing in a whirlwind.

Two figures emerged from the darkness on either side of the dark being.

"_**What do you make of the girl's chances, my lord?**_"

"**Decent enough to warrant my attention. You should already know this, Mephisto.**"

"**I tire of these games. My lord, when will **_**that**_** be ready?**"

"**Soon, my dear Baal, soon. Our victory is at hand, gentlemen, and whether or not she succeeds, we will, in the end, be the victors, or my name is not **_**Lucifer**_**, lord of daemons.**"

* * *

The daemons around her murmured softly. It was unusual to see a human these days, more so if in the service of the daemon lord himself. It was that irregularity that also kept them sharp and willing to do whatever the human needed them to do. Disobeying her was denying her authority, and denying her authority meant denying their lord. Denying their lord meant death. As in any monarchy, the peasants may grumble but go about their work.

Though... '_It's more like a dictatorship than a monarchy,_' Miya mused to herself. Weapon scroll in her back pouch, check. Daemonic sword, check. Poisons, check. She'd studied the files that she'd been given just a scant several hours ago. In the country she was to infiltrate, many did not know of the current war effort, but were nervous about increasing tension in and out of the country. The nation's enemies did not specifically target civilians, just their ninja. The people of the country were optimistic in good times and pessimistic in the bad; extremes on either end. They liked to complain, wore wool clothes in the winter and cotton every other season, and respected and even worshiped in some cases the village's greatest clans. Some in particular were the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Hyuuga.

Miya frowned at the recollection. All three names had also been well-known in this world. All three clans had nearly been wiped out by the daemon invasion, and the amount of members from each clan still surviving could be counted on one hand. To think that the other world was just like theirs, the only difference being the paths they traveled.

The thought was really quite depressing. She did not regret switching sides. She was alive because of it. What she did regret was that she could not savor her old life more before the end came. Yes, she had been the best, and would follow every order to the dot... but she'd enjoyed herself between missions, taking in the scenery, lounging about in the heat... Doing what any normal girl would do. Now she would take part in destroying yet another world. She would crush the futures of individuals, smash their happiness, and take away their most precious things.

It wasn't really something she enjoyed doing, but her motto and way in life had always been to look out for numero uno. "Well," she muttered aloud, shrugging, "perhaps the time in infiltration won't be so bad." Yeah. She would eventually have to betray them all but in the meantime, she'd enjoy herself in the new world.

"Human, the portal is ready." A lesser daemon entered the room, bowing its head slightly. "You can enter it whenever you please."

"Mhm." She did not turn to face it, nor give a full reply. Such was the authority she wielded. One last look at her surroundings. Dark here, dark there, dark everywhere. It'd feel good to be in the sunshine. When was the last time she'd seen a live tree? Miya felt giddy. Both figuratively and literally, she'd be entering a new world. New people, new surroundings, new dangers. It excited her, and that feeling made her feel whole. Life wasn't worth living without any excitement, after all.

* * *

Akagan strolled through the streets at a leisurely pace, taking in his surroundings casually. Dozens of people filled the streets, almost all of them busy. A festival was coming up in five days to commemorate Uzumaki Naruto's defeat of Akatsuki and the beginning of Honoogakure. The entire village was up and about because of this, and even those who knew a war was going on was involved in getting ready for the two-day long festivities.

The festival was being used to raise morale, Akagan realized. A smart move. An unhappy population was an inefficient population that could rise up against you. Though on second thought, it would probably never get to that point. Every villager held a deep and profound respect for the founder of Honoogakure, he discovered after a bit of chatting here and there. Most people believed that betraying the village meant betraying the man's ideals, and therefore his existence. The Uchiha found himself respecting Uzumaki Naruto, to an extent. He respected the man's inability to compromise his beliefs, but also found the notion quite naïve.

There were some things that could not _ever_ be beaten just because you wouldn't give up.

'_Che._' He didn't like reminding himself of those dark days. Oh, how confident they'd been when the first daemon sightings were reported. How foolishly brave they'd been when the ultimatum had been delivered. He swerved a little to avoid a pair of children running around and laughing wildly. When the full forces of the daemons had stood in front of the gates of Konoha, Minato had crumpled onto the ground. Two million... two million daemons against a mere three-thousand shinobi and kunoichi. Even though it had been in its prime, Konoha had been doomed from the beginning.

They and a hundred ninja had escaped the massacre, scattering into the wastelands to the south. Kaze no Kuni. They had been next. The daemons had burrowed underground and emerged within Sunagakure's walls, annihilating everyone in the ensuing battle. From there, Mizu, Kaminari and Tsuchi had fallen rapidly as more and more daemons poured through into the lands.

From then on, Minato had lost his shine. Lost sight of his beliefs. From then on it could only get worse.

"Ah! Sorry!" He tilted his head slightly. A young man bowed his head apologetically as he climbed down the ladder to retrieve the hammer that had missed his head by inches. Akagan could see he was worried, and not just because he had almost injured someone. "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine. Just be more careful from now on." He turned to go on his way. '_Hm... Looks like there are some naughty rumor starters_.' It was either that or a spy spreading dissent through propaganda. Whatever it was, Minato would have to come down hard upon it.

While he, Akagan, was a genius of combat, Minato was more well-rounded with strengths in both combat and tactics. As such, the Sharingan user could expect the cyclops to take partial or complete command of the war effort, if not participate outright in a show of force against Honoo's enemies. And what a show that would be! He chuckled, which earned him not a few confused looks from the people around him.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the dango shop to his right. _Almost_. Seeing it, he realized he was hungry and decided to take a break from his stroll-slash-intelligence gathering to feast on some sweets. His taste buds were still sensitive, but he used to eat a lot of dango in his childhood, and he just couldn't resist. It didn't take long for a waitress to take his order for two plates, and he used the wait to stretch his legs a little.

His legs were cramped. Back home, he was used to traveling much faster. As a speed-type shinobi it felt strange going around at such a slow pace. It took a lot of his self-control not to start sprinting.

His dango and a cup of steaming hot tea arrived, and Akagan took his time savoring the sheer sweetness of it all. Nothing like those damned rations to make everything else seem more delectable, even if the tastes were too extreme. He glanced sideways as four new entries entered the store. Three kids – two kids about twelve to fourteen years of age, one a boy the other a girl, and a second girl that looked anywhere between fifteen to seventeen – and a Jounin with a flak jacket. Typical Genin team.

Akagan restrained himself from choking on his dango. Genin at that age?! How embarrassing. He'd been a Jounin at the age of fourteen.

The boy was shouting something, but he couldn't hear it. His ears naturally tuned out idiots. So the boy was a loudmouth. Probably the type to bark loudly but do the least. Akagan popped another dango into his mouth as he decided to devote his attention to watching the antics of these youngsters. Time to see what the Genin of Honoo were like. The boy's short hair was a strange _pink_ color – '_Urgh, pink_...' – and had green eyes. The younger girl had straight blonde hair and blue eyes, while the older girl had black eyes and hair with a red bow tying up her hair into a short ponytail.

"Hoo-AH!" the pinkette shouted, "I, Haruno Masataku, am one step closer to the position of Hokage!"

Akagan choked and his face paled. What an attitude! He was reminded of a certain blonde-haired blue-eyed youth from his childhood who had eventually become Hokage. What was more, the boy was a _Haruno_. The last Haruno had been Haruno Sakura, who had died in the initial daemon invasion. Though... considering the existence of Uzumaki Naruto in both worlds, he supposed it only made sense that this world, an parallel world of sorts, would have familiar names.

And in both worlds, Uzumaki Naruto had disappeared from the face of the planet. His own had died in the daemon invasion.

"T-Takkun, um... you're being too loud," cautioned the blonde nervously.

"Hah! Like I care! What's not loud enough is _you_, Haruko! For an Uzumaki you're too timid!"

"Haruno, _shut the fuck up_," growled the brunette, whom he assumed was an Uchiha if the team match-ups meant anything.

"You aimin' to pick a fight, Uchiha?!" He gripped the table hard enough to fracture it.

"What if I am? What're you gonna do about it, dunghole?"

"Maa, maa... break it up you two," chided the Jounin, intervening and stopping the impending fight. "Mikoto, you're the eldest. Do try to be mature. Masataku, Haruko is right. You're too loud." He had silver hair and black eyes; a Hatake if he wasn't being delusional.

That meant that what he was seeing were the great-grand-children of the legendary Team Seven together as a team in a parallel world. The boy even seemed to have his ancestor's super-strength.

Akagan reached for another dango skewer only to realize that there were no more. He raised a hand to catch the waitress' attention. "Hey, can I get another two plates here?"

He settled into his chair to wait for more dango and turned to study the Genin platoon some more... which was when he noticed that the Haruno was studying _him_. Skillfully making it seem like he was looking around, Akagan raised a single eyebrow at the pinkette, who flipped him the bird.

"Suck it, Uchiha! Hard work overcomes genius any day!"

Akagan turned to gaze questioningly at the Jounin, who shrugged slightly and gave him an apologetic look.

Now he could feel another gaze on him. The female Uchiha. Of course, she'd be able to recognize any and all Uchiha within the village, as could any member of the clan. It wasn't known that he was an Uchiha, though the pinkette's exclamation had likely sparked some thought into the matter, and she would realize soon enough that he did indeed have the characteristics of an Uchiha, at which time he'd be questioned. He exhaled slowly.

At least he had something to throw the two brats off.

Sipping at his tea slowly, he watched not with his eyes but with small amounts of pinpoint-accuracy chakra bursts the two, and eventually three, looking at him. The Uzumaki was likely wondering what the other two were looking at, and the Jounin was probably looking at him without obviously looking at him. At least the Jounin was good. The kids might eventually grow up to become excellent ninja, if they didn't die beforehand.

Ah... war... So trivial to start one, so seemingly impossible to stop one.

The waitress set down two more plates of dango on the table. He thanked her before picking up another skewer. As he ate, he wondered where their companions were. Hyuuga Hana and Akari were the closest. They had no leads on the other Hana. If the geography of this world was the same as their own, then Hana and Akari were likely in what would've been Kaze no Kuni or Tsuchi no Kuni, the two nations that were below and above Ho no Kuni respectively.

He glanced right. The pinkette was muttering something under his breath to the blonde, while the brunette pretended not to care but listened in anyways.

Akagan sniffed in annoyance and rose from his seat to pay for his dango. After paying, he made his way out slowly and deliberately, passing by the Genin trio and, in an act of defiance, smirked at them.

And then he was gone.

"Come on!" Masataku urged. "He's suspicious! He could be a _spy_!"

"I don't like spies," Haruko murmured, but got up anyway.

"... Whatever."

Masataku ran outside to spy Akagan disappearing into the crowd. '_Shit_.' He leapt onto the roof of the dango house and spotted his target making his way down the main thoroughfare towards... the Hokage Tower! His imagination went into overdrive as he attempted to decipher the brunette's plans. Assassinate the Hokage? Impossible. Hack into the database? Impossible. Sabotage? Difficult, but possible. Sabotage it was.

He ran ahead of his teammates, who had also leapt onto the rooftops. Masataku had the man in his sights, but when a tall man walked past, the tools he were carrying temporarily blocked his line of sight. When the man had moved on, the brunette had disappeared. '_Shit_!' He stopped to consider his options. To disappear so quickly and skillfully in an urban area without anyone noticing meant that his target was Jounin level at the very least. A sharp wit and mind inherited from his ancestor, he was both the loudest and smartest in his Genin team, though the Uchiha could give him a run for his money in the intelligence department, damn her.

By stroke of sheer luck, he caught sight of his target fifty meters from where he'd been lost. Shunshin no Jutsu, a Chuunin level jutsu that could only be utilized this expertly at the Jounin level. His sensei could disappear just as fluidly as his target could, and that was trouble; Akuto-sensei was one of the better Jounin in the village. Well, at least that's what Hokage-sama had told them. Maybe she'd been appeasing them for sticking the four together simply because of precedence.

He was closing in now, thirty meters away. Haruhiko slowed to a trot as he kept his eye on the target from his path across the rooftops. Stealth was key now. If he was found out his target would disappear again. That or the target already knew he was being followed and was leading him on a chase.

For all he knew, this could be another one of Akuto-sensei's elaborate plots to gauge the growth of his students. He noted the Uchiha's position on the opposite side of the busy street road, on her own set of rooftops. Haruko lagged behind, but then, he didn't blame her. He too was nervous, but also at the same time excited. The thrill in following an intelligent and skilled target was completely different from chasing down animals.

* * *

While Hana kept watch, Akari slept. Her rhythmic breathing threatened Hana's awareness as she too became drowsy. She took a kunai and a piece of timber from the oasis they were staying in and began to carve. It would keep her hands and mind busy. She sighed wistfully as she regarded her traveling companion. Oh how far they had fallen that they could sleep so comfortably in a wasteland and be unable to sleep around other people because of paranoia.

They'd been saved from death by dehydration by arriving at a small town earlier that day, and after having stocked up on precious water at a high cost – it was fortunate the currency was the same as the ones they carried – they had set off immediately. The stares had burned, for the townspeople rarely got visitors, and they had felt uneasy around so many people.

They'd been isolated for far too long. Them even more, Hana realized. She had grown up protected from the real world until her teenage years, and Akari had always been a loner because of her being a sociopath. All the more so having lived so long with only their companions, who numbered enough that she could count them on two hands. A truly pitiful existence.

She'd seen the oasis using her Byakugan as the scorching desert sun had begun to set. The colorful fauna had been a nice change in surroundings from the ever-present bleak landscape that they'd traveled the last several days in. She could still sense traces of some of their compatriots and had struggled to center their location. For the moment, she was sure that they were traveling in the correct general direction. The oasis offered them shade during the day and some measure of warmth against the chilly desert winds. They'd rest for a day. By leaving the oasis tomorrow evening, Hana hoped to both conserve their constitution and water by traveling a good eight to ten or so hours under darkness.

She stretched her Byakugan to the limit and, seeing nothing, deactivated her bloodline. In the middle of the desert, she was certain that they wouldn't have company, but set up several loud traps just in case. Settling back against the palm tree's spine, Hana closed her eyes and drifted off into blissful sleep.

* * *

Minato sat upon his likeness, carved into the mountain. The very seat he had sat upon prior to travelling to this world. This spot always offered tranquility and the chance to do many things: reminisce the past, review his actions, and plan for the future. Legs out, elbows on his knees and his hands folded across the gap, he assumed his brooding pose. For many moments he stayed silent. Minato looked down upon the large village with its many lights so full of life. How wonderful it must be to be alive. For an hour, he sat there, taking in the sight. It was strange... for so long it had just been a few of them fighting for survival and now here he was in a bustling city. He felt no danger here, and that was what unnerved him.

He was interrupted from his brooding by a sob. He turned, but could not see anything. The cries were low, and the wind was probably carrying the voice from within the forest that was situated around the path leading up to the top of the mountain. Minato grunted and made his way to the treeline slowly. Still seeing nothing, he moved forward step by step until about fifty feet in, where he found a young girl crying. As he approached, the girl noticed the movement and looked up quickly. Her frightened, tear-filled expression caused Minato to hold up his hands, palms outward, to show that he had no intention of harming her.

"Why are you crying?" he asked as nicely as he could. Talking to a bunch of daemons didn't do a man well for his nice vocal tones.

"I-I... I was following my friends and then- got lost. Couldn't find anyone. I- I got scared and- next thing I knew... was here all alone..." She could not string her words together coherently because of a bad case of hiccups, but he got the gist of it.

He remembered back to his young days filled with happiness. Of acceptance. Of fulfillment. He gathered those memories together and using the sheer emotion filled within those memories, smiled gently as he patted the girl on her back.

"It'll be a-okay. I can take you home."

…

"HARUKO!" The voice came echoing through the woods. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Unable to resist the call of her friend, and before he could stop her, she had replied. "Takkun?"

"Haruko!" In a pink blur, the boy rocketed through the forest homing in on the source of his teammate's voice. "Haru-" He saw her, but also a man. A man he'd never seen before, for there were few blonds in Honoogakure aside from the Yamanaka and Uzumaki. A kunai was in his hand as Minato once again raised his hands.

"Takkun, please stop!" Uzumaki Haruko pleaded, tears still streaming down her face as she stood up. "He's not a bad person!"

"You don't know that Haruko! For all we know he could have been trying to get on your good side and kidnap you!"

Minato snorted. "If I really wanted to kidnap her, I could have killed you as soon as you came into sight."

The Haruno paused, formulating his words before responding, "If you're half as good as you believe yourself to be, you could kill us at any time."

The blond cocked his head and nodded approvingly. "That's true, I'll give you that much. However!" he rummaged through his pant pocket and withdrew a headband. Engraved on it was the symbol of a leaf, a carryover from the times when Honoo used to be Konoha. It could have been pilfered, but there hadn't been any reports about families in the village receiving notifications of death. The metal gleamed a "new metal" shine, meaning it was brand new. It wasn't yet time for a new batch of Genin to graduate from the Academy so the one-eyed man must have acquired it straight from the quartermaster. And to receive a headband freshly made from the blacksmith working for the quartermaster meant that the guy was legit.

Masataku lowered his kunai slowly, giving a grudging glare to the blond before placing it back into its holster.

Mikoto, hidden behind a tree, followed his lead and sheathed her wakizashi before leaving the safety of cover. It seemed to be genetic that Uchiha were naturally intelligent, and like Masataku, she had concluded that the man's claim that he had meant no harm was sound.

The cyclops smiled. If these kids were part of the next generation, the village may have a future. As Haruko wiped away her tears, Masataku moved by her and held out his hand, which she took. After helping her up, he turned and bowed to Minato.

"I'm sorry for acting like I did."

Minato shook his head. "No, you did the right thing. Just because they possess the markings of your village doesn't make them your ally. Always be watchful. Even those close to you may betray you."

"But what could compel them to do that?" the pinkette demanded. "After living here and making friends and enjoying life, how could someone just get up and betray the village?"

"Sometimes the situation demands it to be so," Minato replied shortly. "I have to go, kids. I'll see you some other time." With that, he disappeared with a seal-less Shunshin no Jutsu.

Masataku stood dumbfounded. The same exact move that the brunette earlier had used to disappear from their sight. From the look that Mikoto had given the guy earlier, he could tell that she couldn't recognize the brunette. What did this mean, when two shinobi suddenly appeared that looked like an Uchiha and Uzumaki but neither an Uchiha nor Uzumaki could identify them? The pinkette frowned. He would have to bring this up with Akuto-sensei.

* * *

Kizuna stared forlornly at the bright stars overhead. After moping around the entire day, she had decided to try to calm herself by coming up and laying down on the roof of the complex. She felt that the brilliance and number of the stars in the night sky helped her to feel more insignificant; that the impact of her actions would be negligible. That wasn't usually what a normal person _wanted_ to feel, but ninja were hardly normal people. They killed and undermined for a living. Whereas a normal person might want to feel more significant, some ninja wanted to feel less significant to justify their actions. No matter how much one enjoyed serving his or her village, no sane individual didn't dream about the people he or she killed.

Ryouichi had come by earlier and tried to cheer her up. It had failed dismally. Kimiko had shown up a bit later but had also left. Yuki had deigned not to visit her because, as the all-knowing older sister, she knew that Kizuna had to get out of the funk on her own.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked.

Minato shifted from his position at the roof exit, just a little startled that he'd been sensed. "What makes you think I have the ability to kill someone?."

Turning her head, she gave him a pointed stare. The stare said 'I don't believe you'.

"Yes," he said, conceding defeat, "I have."

"Do you ever dream about them? About the lives you ended... taking away lives that could have been lived out in happiness?"

"..."

"Did you know Uzumaki Naruto never directly killed anyone?"

"No, I didn't."

"It's not too well known outside of our family."

He paused. "Our?"

She turned and gave him a look, raising an eyebrow. "You sure look like an Uzumaki to me, whether or not I haven't seen you before. The world's a big place."

"What an interestingly broad view you have there," he commented. "My friend and I have been cast as spies for the last few days, sadly."

"Ever since the days of Uzumaki Naruto, the clan and the Hokage have been really close. I heard about your visit."

"..."

"So. Do you dream?"

"Yes. Doesn't everybody?"

Frowning, she replied, "I meant do you dream about the people you've killed?"

"Why do you ask? Rather, why _did_ you ask?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking today. I realized it was you the other day when I walked into the wrong apartment. After thinking about how you ended up on top of me and what you've been through, I thought I didn't have the objectivity to judge you. I wanted to know what you thought about all this."

"The Hokage seems a little lax with her words if you know that much."

"Just answer the damn question."

"I... do dream about the people I've killed. They're never happy."

"What, the dreams or the people?"

"Both."

"Do you feel guilty about killing them?"

Minato sighed, foreseeing that the conversation would not end so easily, and made his way to the albino and sat down next to her. He took his brooding pose and formed a response. "I did what I had to do, as did you. As a ninja, there is no way out of killing someone eventually, and getting it over with more quickly is better for your health. Younger minds are more impressionable and can take the stress of the guilt weighing down on them better than older people."

"... You didn't answer my question," Kizuna said, an accusing tone in her voice. She was sharp...

"To answer your question, there is never a time that I don't feel guilty. But that won't stop me from killing more people in the future. To begin with, having this guilt makes you normal... it marks you as a human being. But you can't let it control your life. You can't let the guilt _affect_ you, so to speak." Minato turned his head and met her eyes before progressing. "To move on, you have to accept the fact that you killed those people. You have to accept the burden that killing another human being adds to your emotional baggage. Take that baggage for example... By accepting the burden and not throwing it away... by adding more burdens and accepting those... they begin to pile up, and eventually be crushed, squished, and forgotten. Yes, you'll eventually forget about the kills – never your first, you never forget your first kills – but they will always, _always_ be there. That is what it means to move on."

"What... what about people that don't feel guilt?"

"_Normal _people feel guilt. Human beings feel guilt. Those kind of people are _ab_normal... inhuman. They are the ones that become missing-nin, the people that raze villages, that kill for pleasure or for the mere act of killing."

Minato's fiery gaze unnerved the albino, and Kizuna turned her head away. His words, his actions, they felt a lot older than the young-looking man sitting next to her. Far older. What hat happened to him that had made him like this? What kind of world did he come from? As far as she knew, clan records stated that there existed direct connections to several different realms – or worlds – from this world.

"... Kizuna."

"You know my name?"

"I happened to hear about you in the village. They don't get many albinos. The men talk about your looks and the women talk about your hair."

Her face flushed. '_Do people really talk about me like that?_' Kizuna was thankful that it was the period of the new moon, so that the darkness would hide her embarrassment.

Not that it helped, as merging with a demon had given Minato excellent night-vision.

'_Is this what it feels like to have a sibling, I wonder..._'

He reached over and ruffled her hair, which elicited a scowl. He stood up and brushed off his pants, a small smile on his face. "It's time for me to go. You won't see much of me until the day after tomorrow, when the two of us are introduced into the ninja force."

"What rank?"

Minato rubbed the underside of his nose with his index finger, smirking. "Supreme Commander. Which makes you my underling. Or rather, it makes you _all_ my underlings." He chuckled. "But don't expect any special treatment, _Sierra-Zero-One-Three_."

Sitting up, Kizuna gave him a sloppy mock salute, feeling a lot better than before. "I'll see you on the parade grounds then, _Commander_."

"That's _Supreme _Commander to you, Uzumaki!" he barked. "I won't have any insubordination in _my_ army."

She smiled. Somehow, their first meeting seemed like it happened an age ago, what with the little bonding experience they'd just partook in. "Good night." It helped that they were practically neighbors.

For a man that had never had familial relations, growing up an orphan, this was like a breath of fresh air after living underground. "Good night." He was as surprised at she was at the conclusion to this episode. It felt good. It felt good having someone rely on him this way; to be able to share his pains to someone... He'd always had to play the strong leader among the refugees, but no longer. Here, he was just another Uzumaki... Here, he had a chance to create a life for himself.

This knowledge in his possession, he knew then that he would never let the daemons take this world. He could live a new life. They all could. He would not let the daemons take that away from them, they who had already lost everything once.

"We are the Fury of the Fallen," was whispered into the wind, and the door closed.


	4. Unexpected Incident

"Speaking"

"_Emphasis_"

"In""Unison""Simultaneously"

_Thoughts_

* * *

A week later: Day 10

The Shugoryuu estate entered a state of silence as everyone not of the council waited outside the clan's meeting room. Today, the fateful decision that would make or break their clan would be made.

The daemon sat in front of Ren and the Dragon Council. For minutes it did not speak a word. It stared at Ran, and Ran at it. Neither would give the other the "high ground", so to speak. Finally, feeling that it should compromise, the daemon finally asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Young lord, have you reached a decision?"

Ren knew; he knew that whatever his choice, his elder sister, and by extension the rest of the council, would support him the entire length. They were placing their faith in him, and he knew that he could not fail, or it would mean that their trust had been misplaced. That was as good as betrayal.

"I agree to your terms," Ren began, in his most authoritative voice, "_However_, this agreement will be consolidated by a formal contract. That is our one condition."

The council members nodded their heads in approval. Contracts are binding between youkai, and especially so within the supernatural realms of the God Realm and Chaos Realm, the latter being the home of this particular daemon.

"Very well," the daemon conceded. It expected this before coming into the discussions, for no clan, especially not one in as high a position as the Shugoryuu, risks its well-being, only to have the other side withdraw from their duties. A wise move, but one that decided the fate of this clan. _They think themselves to be clever, forcing us to keep our word. They think they have us outsmarted. It will be too late once they realize our _true _plans._ It nodded. "Then I must bring word of your acceptance and condition to my superiors. I will return with what will probably be an agreement to your terms."

Ren, too, nodded. The spawn of darkness took its leave, disappearing into the floor. Only then did everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as the disturbing presence of the miasma left with the daemon.

"With this, one way or another, our fates are sealed," spoke one council member. "Whatever fate that may be, we now have no other choice but to press in all the way."

Ren and Maki nodded their agreement solemnly.

"If it comes down to the worst-case scenario..." another member dared to ask.

"Then we must send the young ones away into hiding," Maki declared forcefully. "We must ensure the survival of the next generation. They, at least, can rebuild what we might lose."

"Where could we send them? What do you propose, young head?"

Everyone looked to Ren, who bit his bottom lip, conflicted. There were only three places he could possibly consider sending the young ones. He could not trust the other clans. They might honor peacetime commitments, but they definitely could not miss an opportunity to remove a clan from the trio. "There is no possible way for the young ones to stay on this continent if things go badly. While young, our next generation is more than a match for any ninja. I would propose we send them to Honoogakure no Sato, the largest ninja country and one with whom we have had past relations with."

"If we fail our side of the bargain..."

"Uzumaki Naruto hasn't been seen in two centuries," interrupted Maki. "Even if he did return to Honoo, it is not his way to kill an innocent. Only the greatest atrocities could change a man with such strong, grounded principles; atrocities that have not occurred to the best of our knowledge."

"There is still a chance," noted a younger member of the council. "Still, I agree that this is the most prudent decision."

Ren nodded. "It is as they say. Council members, we knew from the start that we risked losing everything however we went about it. Now, it is our duty to set up the necessary countermeasures pending a worst-case scenario."

"Maki, tell us truthfully," questioned the eldest council member, a venerable ancient dragon, "what _is_ the worst possible scenario?"

She hung her head, unable to think of any other alternative but this one: "The apocalypse."

* * *

"HQ, this is Sierra-Zero-One-Actual. We are Oscar-Mike to the intercept point, over."

"HQ copies. HQ to all Sierra elements, scouts report an enemy insertion force half a klick out, coordinates Zero-Five-Lima-Foxtrot-Juliet-Two-Five-Seven-Six-Zero-One."

Author's note: Ignore the coordinate jargon, I just want to keep the feel to it.

Naoto glanced at his field map. The coordinates were accurate to a hundred meters. Where did this info come from? "HQ, how reliable is this intel, over?"

A short pause. "The Supreme Commander vouches for this info, over."

Naoto sighed. "Roger that, HQ. Enemy force marked and setting up the ambush, over and out."

He held out his left arm then brought it in perpendicularly. _Come_. The platoon traveled two-hundred meters before meeting up and merging with Zero-Three and Zero-Four platoons. They were now operating under radio silence, so they couldn't contact Zero-Two, Zero-Five, or Zero-Six. The last two-hundred-fifty meters were taken slowly and stealthily. They couldn't afford to give away their presence. It had taken them an hour but now all three platoons were in place.

However, they could not do this without the other three platoons. There were four ninja platoons encamped fifty meters ahead. Taking a risk, Naoto, as field commander of Task Group Sierra, clicked his radio transmitter on and off quickly, sending a short squelch of static through the radio net. These quick bursts of static would be far harder to detect and trace than full communication, but the odds were still there.

… _There!_ Two bursts of static was heard over his earphone. The other three platoons were in position.

The enemy was unaware, and they were all in position. Naoto then broke radio silence. "Do it."

…

…

"Success!" Glasses clinked as the Sierra platoons celebrated their spectacular rout of the enemy. They drank at a bar reserved specially for ninja.

"I don't know how the Supreme Commander did it, but it's all thanks to that intel he got his grubby hands on!"

Heads bobbed in agreement. "He might be new and we've never heard of him, but he certainly proved himself today," Sierra-Five's platoon leader congratulated. "If Hokage-sama herself backs him as a genuine Uzumaki, I'm not complaining!"

"To the Supreme Commander," Naoto initiated. Despite his misgivings, he was in a very good mood. No one had died today... at least, not on their end. Still, he thought his fellows were too quick into accepting their new "leader". A single successful mission or a dozen, a single betrayal and the stack of cards would come toppling down. He resolved to keep an eye on the mysterious cyclopian blond.

"To the Supreme Commander," the rest echoed.

Minato watched from a distance, a smirk on his face. He always did enjoy a complete victory. _How long has it been since I've received any congratulations, much less had any communication with someone outside our group? The only thing I need to be wary of now is becoming intoxicated with this long sought praise. _He looked about. Though there were a few who didn't look too cheery, one was particularly very glum, sitting alone in a corner.

Kizuna slowly sipped her sake as some of the other men began gambling. "You don't look very happy, Uzumaki," Minato commented as he sat down at her table. "Why the lone wolf business?" To be truthful, though he was pleased with the result, he found it difficult to be genuinely happy. It was hard to celebrate a victory like this when he didn't feel any sort of connection to the village or its ninja. He did like being relied upon and respected, but... This also reminded him of his past. Minato hoped to find something in this village that he would cherish enough to fight for... Just like the last time, in the last world.

"Why do we have to kill?" the albino asked, rhetorically.

_Ah_. "Asking the wise man for advice again, eh?"

"Am I being bothersome?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. Rather, I'd wish there were more people like you, who are willing to ask questions and challenge the ingrained beliefs that you've grown up with. And to be truthful, I guess I do like being relied on a little." Minato paused to gather his wits and formulate an answer.

"Let's see... let's start with this. Peace. It's... a luxury. A luxury for the strong and powerful. They can afford to cow everyone into peace, whether the people want to or not. As long as this inequality exists, there will always be conflict. At the same time, pure equality is only an ideal. It's impossible. Therefore, conflict will exist for as long as long as we live."

"..."

"... Here." The cyclops poured liquid into her glass. "This will make you feel better."

Kizuna shook her glass a little, wondering what the clear liquid was. Then she downed it in a single gulp, but began to cough as the drink assaulted her throat with a burning sensation as it went down.

"W-What the hell was that?" she complained.

He held up the bottle. "Vodka, a foreign drink. It burns when it's warm, but I prefer to drink it that way."

Still looking wary as he poured another glass, she downed it again, hoping to drown her worries. It still burned as it went down, but not nearly as much as her body adjusted. This time instead of just a burning sensation, she could feel the warmth of the liquor within her body. "It's good," she said quietly.

"I expected as much. This is the perfect drink for an Uzumaki."

"... Minato-san..."

"Just Minato is fine. Off duty, I'm just another person drinking at a bar. Here, we're all comrades." _Though I say that... I'm really only acting friendly to establish connections. A new world with new people... It'll take a while for me to adjust and fit in. _

"M-M-M-Minato." She had trouble rolling the word off her tongue without adding any sort of honorific. "... In your world, what was the clan like?"

"I don't know. I was the last of my kind, born an orphan."

Kizuna chuckled. "That sounds like the story of Naruto."

"It does," agreed Minato, "but Uzumaki Naruto died in the initial assault." There was no point avoiding the question. That damn hag already told her everything that she'd been told through Akagan's Mangekyou. Kizuna's relationship with the Hokage eerily resembled Naruto and Tsunade's relationship of olde.

"Wouldn't that make you his son, then? Named after his father? What-"

He stopped her with a finger to her mouth, halting further questioning. As her face flushed at the contact, he just smiled and said, "You'll just have to live with your guesses."

"Geez! Stop doing that!"

"Hm?"

"Don't play dumb with me."

"Oh, you mean me being evasive or my way of stopping another one of your rants?"

"Both." She pouted, a little freer with her emotions after having a few drinks.

"Your face is red."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Kizuna rolled her eyes, causing Minato to chuckle. It didn't strike him until after that he was starting to feel at home, just a little. _I haven't laughed much, if at all, since then. Maybe it's the kinship of a fellow clan member or the nostalgia of my bittersweet past, but... I don't want this world to suffer like ours did._

"Who knew you could be so sarcastic?"

"A maiden's lips are sacred. Sacred! You don't just go around touching them."

"Ah." _So that's why_. _Well, I never was very good around women._

"Supreme Commander."

The blond smiled genially. "Ah, Naoto, hello. What can I do for you on this fine day?"

"It's a bit early but we should go report to Hokage-sama." _And keep a closer eye on you._

"Mm, you're right. See you later, Uzumaki."

Naoto nodded to his platoon member, who nodded back.

A few minutes after their disappearance, Kizuna excused herself and hummed as she walked home.

* * *

"Tell me I'm dreaming."

"You're not."

"Is it real?"

"It has to be."

In the distance, Akari and Hana could see the distinct green of foliage. They'd left the desert several days ago, but had ended up trudging daily through endless plains. Both kunoichi stared at each other for a short moment before, in a burst of chakra, sprinted towards the glorious forest that lay ahead of them. Glorious, glorious forest... There were no more true forests in their home world. The daemons' miasma had petrified them long ago, turning them into stone graveyards.

Akari threw herself onto the loamy dirt, rubbing her face in it. "It's been so long since I've felt such soft dirt," she murmured.

"And Mina's signal is getting stronger. We're closing in."

"Figures he'd be where the trees were from the beginning... Fucking treehugger."

A sharp glance followed. "Says the whore hugging the ground. Just because you came from an industrial land doesn't give you the right to make fun of our heritage."

A shrug. "Eh, it all burns the same."

"..."

"..."

"Let's just agree to disagree."

"Affirmative," Akari replied, deadpan.

A few minutes, then a few hours, passed. The two did their best to avoid clearings, where an ambush could easily be set up against them, but also moved as quickly as they could while being stealthy. However, they had yet to come across any settlements.

"Right, we should split up, so we can cover more ground."

"Yessss, we can leave behind the blind one." _Yes, let's._

"You're mixing up your thoughts and speech, bitch," Hana growled, ticked. "We meet back here in three hours."

_..._

Two hours after they'd split up, Akari crept along slowly, measuring each step slowly and carefully moving through every bit of foliage without creating a single noise. Complete silence.

A faint sound caught her attention. After several minutes of a little speedier travel, the sounds were gradually getting louder. Using her original point and current point as markers against the direction from which the sounds came, the redhead quickly calculated the general direction that would lead her to the source of the noise. This direction would serve as an abstract third point in triangulating the estimated position. Akari's mind bore resemblance to a computer in the sheer speed at which she could perform calculations.

She stretched as far as she could once she reached a clearing upon a cliff, peering over the cliff edge in a prone position. _There. One klick away._ _A village. No movement... there! Fire. I hear a scream... trouble._ She performed a running leap off of the cliff and landed heavily at the bottom, cushioned by chakra. She closed as fast as she could with her large girth. When she reached the village's outskirts, she slipped a trench knife out of her thigh holster. Akari fit her fingers into the four holes built into the blade before proceeding, blade arm out. After a few blocks, she could hear noises nearby.

She put her back to the wall and deftly reversed her grip on the trench knife. Arm half extended, bent in preparation for a rapid backhanded thrust, she quickly turned the corner. _A dead end..._ with a trapped woman and a hungry-looking bandit. Already the woman's clothes had been ripped up. _No time for contemplation. No hesitation._

Akari moved silently until his back bared itself to her. The woman, in her fright, had not noticed the silent approach.

Then, with a strength unnatural of such a young-looking girl, she lashed out with her foot, pulverizing the bandit's tibia and fibula, the two bones that lay under the knee, and the strongest weight-bearing bone of the body. As he stumbled and fell, she reached out and grasped his mouth before he could completely register the pain and cry out, brought him to her chest, and brought down the trench knife.

She released her grip on the knife so that she could hold down the body and stop it from thrashing around and creating noise during its death throes. The puncture in his jugular took effect seconds later, and the bandit's life faded away. There was now blood everywhere, mostly on the walls.

Of all the old-world survivors, the title of most-silent and most-deadly belonged to Akari, the covert operations and assassination specialist of the group. Her artificially enlarged body was a handicap she'd established for her enemies to give herself a challenge.

"Thank you... thank you so much," the woman sobbed quietly.

Akari patted the woman on the shoulder. She put a finger to her lips, and, after a few moments, Akari left as silently as she'd come, out to continue the hunt.

…

"Where the _hell_ is she?" Hana wondered meanwhile, waiting at the rendezvous point

…

Ten kills later, the bandits began to suspect something. The young girls of the village knew as well that something was happening, but not what. Nevertheless, a spark of hope grew within their hearts while the bandits became increasingly nervous. These last fifteen bandits hovered around the hostages, hoping that this would discourage further assault. Of course, this assumed that the assassin didn't want any innocent casualties, or that she didn't have means for long-range combat.

_Too many bandits. Too many hostages. Change of plans._

She placed her trench knife into its proper holster and reached for her hip holster. Akari flipped the safety to off and peered over the roof.

_Seven shots._

Akari inserted the magazine and stood up, calmly cocking the pistol.

She pulled the trigger. A loud crack reverberated across the town center.

_Clean headshot._

The bandits were shocked, still taking in the scene, the dead bandit not yet hitting the floor, his eyes blank, a hole in his forehead. Two more times she pulled the trigger, two more times a loud crack sounded, and two more times the brains of the unlucky splattered out the back of their heads. Now aware of the danger, the remaining bandits separated into three groups of four and advanced on her position. Knowing that the enemy would not hesitate from killing them, hostages or not, it was indeed the best course of action.

Not that it would do any good. She shifted her aim, four trigger pulls, four leaking brains, one dead bandit group and bingo on ammo. She didn't reload. Her remaining magazines were far too precious to waste any further. The bandits had moved away from the hostages and there was no more need for the weapon.

The four kills had taken a total of three seconds.

Seeing the deaths of their comrades come so swiftly and not knowing whether that demon on the roof had any more munitions to fire, the eight remaining bandits attempted to flee. Unfortunately, they all decided to run in the same direction. A flurry of throwing knives quickly resolved the situation.

"Well!" She was thoroughly pleased with the outcome as the now freed girls shouted their eternal thanks. "I guess I should get back to Hana before she comes looking for me."

"Too late."

"..." Akari made a feeble attempt to smile, not knowing what else to do in that situation. _God damn it._

* * *

… _I'm surrounded_.

Hana wanted to hold out on the hope that the youkai deployment in the region was regular. He'd been wrong. Hana held his arms in the air, palms empty and opened. This gesture of surrender was the catalyst in causing the youkai to come out of their hiding places.

"State your business in our lands, _human_!" The yuki-onna that appeared to be in charge demanded.

_Ayaya, a _xenophobe. "I mean no harm. I'm just trying to find my comrades."

"There are no other such humans on the continent."

"Then I apologize and should be on my way. I must have ended up on the wrong continent." He made to leave but was just as quickly blocked by the other yuki-onna.

"Where did you come from?"

_Better think of something quick_. "... Yukigakure no Sato..."

"Liar. Yuki no Kuni was demolished in The Great War."

_Shit, think, think! _It was time to gamble. "... But I never specified which _world_."

Her eyes narrowed. "You... you're an otherworlder?"

"Yes." It didn't matter at this point. He had to reach his comrades at any cost... alive. It would be a simple matter killing these youkai, but that would bring even more of them and their deaths would spark a manhunt. Better to go along with them for the time being.

"..." She deftly conjured up ice cuffs to bind his hands. "You're coming with us for interrogation. After we're satisfied with your claims, and _assuming_ we can verify your lack of ill will, we _may_ let you go free."

Hana sighed. _Looks like I won't be getting out of this one without a fight._ _Let's at least see how this plays out. _"As you wish. Lead the way."

* * *

"Supreme Commander."

"Hm?"

The platoon we dispatched to deal with the bandit raid at our borders have reported that someone else took care of it before they arrived."

"... And?" He asked in a tone that said, 'get to the point'.

The Chuunin aide was still wary of the newly dubbed Supreme Commander, and with good reason. A guy who had just _appeared_ from nowhere, knowing no one, and taking such a high position. Many in the ninja force suspected some form of bribe or genjutsu. Regardless, many also regarded the blond's 'no bullshit, get to the point' attitude as a refreshing change of pace. "The platoon managed to intercept the group and bring them here."

"Bring them in then, if you must," he said, bored. That all changed when the door to the office opened. Minato's eyes widened. "Akari! Hanabi!"

The Chuunin aide blinked. This Hanabi was obviously a Hyuuga and probably not one the family would recognize. _She's beautiful_. On the other hand, the redhead was... well, wide. He supposed she was an Akimichi, though her head seemed two or three more shades of red than was the norm for the Akimichi. "Err..."

"Tell the Hokage that these two are my comrades. She'll know what I mean."

Despite his suspicions of yet two more strangers just up and appearing, the Chuunin saluted smartly and left the room through the window for the Hokage's Tower. The chain of command was there for a reason, after all.

"Well, now. We're alone. You two are here, and Akagan showed up with me. That means we're missing Hana."

"Akagan?""Akagan?" they asked in unison.

"You know...? Mister Uchiha."

"Ah...""Ah..." Two nods.

"How are you stocked on weapons, Akari?"

"All three pistols are well maintained and ready whenever. I have fifteen mags of the 9x19 Parabellum, fifteen mags of the .45 ACP, and ten mags of the .44 Magnum. Four-ten total shots and potential kills."

"Right, we'll have to find some way to duplicate the production process here."

"So, what's the sitrep?" Hanabi asked.

"War, but on a laughable scale compared to what we've gone through. I imagine we can turn this to our advantage. Win the war, gain their loyalty, and use the country as a base of operations for the eventuality of war against the daemons."

"Certainly there is a lot more available manpower here," Akari noted. "And it doesn't take a ninja to fire guns."

"It's good to see you two, but reunions can wait; no, _need_ to wait. We can't waste any time. Akari, check around the smithies as subtly as possible. See if there's anyone willing to go against manufacturing regulations to make bullets. It doesn't matter if we have to sacrifice a dozen magazines' worth in dissections. Toss in a few hints about the profits that can come from it, but make sure they're trustworthy."

"Roger."

"Hanabi, I want you to go through any and all books in this country. Look for mentions of other worlds. I heard it out of the way but if a connection between worlds is possible, we need to find it. Apart from potential allies, we need access to better technology if we're to survive. We can't hope to fight the daemons at their own game of CQC. We need guns, and lots of them. We only have what we have because of that lucky archaeological find of an ancient civilization, but we can't rely on luck any longer. We need to refine this technology and improve it."

"Roger."

"What about Akagan?"

A shrug. "I guess he's probably out subverting some powerful bloodline families. A bit of genjutsu here, a bit of genjutsu there, and you can eventually permanently alter their perceptions towards our liking. If push comes to shove, we'll have to perform a coup d'état against the Hokage to take control of the country."

"You sure no one is listening in on us?" asked Hanabi cautiously, Byakugan activated. "I can't see anyone in the immediate vicinity but there are other ways to eavesdrop."

"I'm sure. While my appointment to this position wasn't greeted with fanfare, obviously, the people of the country are rather rigid about the order of rank. That aide is the only one allowed in here without permission, and only if I'm present in it, or otherwise ordered by myself to be in it."

"Right."

"Alright, let's get to work."

* * *

The next morning: Day 11

"No! I want harder missions!' Masataku demanded in as loud a voice as he could muster. Mikoto sighed heavily and glared at the wall, crossing her arms, while Haruko bowed apologetically. 8 days after meeting Minato, and six days after his appointment as Supreme Commander, the Haruno was at wit's end. "We've been doing D-Rank missions for seven months. SEVEN MONTHS! No more!"

"T-Takkun..."

"..."

"You cant," objected the Chuunin manning the mission-table. "It's wartime and under wartime regulations all Genin are to start intensive training. You can't do that if you're not around."

"I refuse!"

"You _can't _refuse!"

"It can't hurt, can it?"

"S-Supreme Commander!" The Chuunin stood and saluted smartly, as did the other Chuunin and the Genin present. As hesitant as he still was about the blonde, Masataku joined with the others.

"At ease." Minato stepped forward casually. "This is actually a good opportunity," he told the confused-looking Chuunin. "Send out Genin platoons trailed by Chuunin platoons to undertake C-Rank missions in order to gauge their strengths and weaknesses, the better to train them properly. The Chuunin can be the observers and will be backup if things go awry."

Masataku broke out into a delighted smile. _You know, I guess he isn't so bad after all!_

"... Understood." The Chuunin complied with the pseudo-order grudgingly, knowing he'd lost. _After all, he does make a good point. _"You seem well experienced in these matters, sir."

"That's right." Minato ruffled through the stack containing C-Rank missions. "Ah, this looks suitable. Ahem. C-Rank mission. The village of Ihojin requests a platoon of ninja to deal with the thefts and damages dealt by a former Chuunin of Kumo."

"WE ACCEPT!"

"Masataku," Akuto chided, "It's not up to you. It's up to me." He glanced sideways at Haruko, who looked nervous, and then at Mikoto, who looked relieved. _Well..._ "We accept the mission."

"YEAH!" whooped the pinkette.

"Alright. You're free to leave whenever you want, but sooner is better."

"Yes sir." Akuto tipped his head in a bow and then left the room trailed by his three Genin. While Masataku skipped as he did so, humming a tune, Mikoto lacked any expression. Akuto wondered if she was a cooldere. _Perhaps a tsundere with a lot of tsun-tsun. _He blushed under his mask. On to another subject, all three Genin were theoretically fit to become Chuunin; After all, they performed separate training organized by their own prestigious families. Their teamwork, however, was dismal. Haruko worked well with the other two but Masataku and Mikoto were very commonly at each others' throats. _It's too bad... their ancestors worked as a team flawlessly. Well, _after_ they got past their differences, but still... _Once they got out, he turned. "Go home, get your essentials packed, and meet me at the west gate in an hour. Dismissed." He then puffed away.

The trip from the mission-center and the Hokage tower was short. After picking out missions for several other Genin platoons, he left the Chuunin to their duties and returned to the office he'd been presented along with his new rank. The raven was waiting for him.

"I've done a bit of digging. Met with the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans to begin with. I didn't dare use any genjutsu on our first meeting, but I'll be familiarizing them with myself for a while. There are quite a few bloodline clans in Honoo, and a few non that have prestige, like the Uzumaki."

Minato nodded. "Well, for now put that on the back burner. I have a new assignment in mind for you. Remember those kids that tried to tail you a week back?"

"... What about them?" the brunette asked cautiously. What came next made him livid.

…

Within an hour, they had reassembled at the West Gate. The Chuunin team was waiting for them, led by Akagan. Mikoto narrowed her eyes as their gazes met. The brunette calmly ignored her.

"By order of the Supreme Commander, I am attending the mission as a secondary observer," he announced. "I'm looking forward to how well you work together" - Akuto grimaced - "in a combat setting. It is important for us to get a grasp of your failings and inadequacies early on and either cover your bases with other skill-sets or with good teamwork."

"That's good. The Supreme Commander seems to be an excellent operational thinker." Akuto commented.

"Your praise is noted."

After double checking preparations, they set out.

* * *

"Kizuna?"

"Yes auntie?"

"How are you doing?"

"Just fine."

"I heard you engaged in combat twice."

"Yes."

"Have you been alright?"

"Yes."

"My sister told me that Task Force November – Yuki and Kimiko – counterattacked into Kusa no Kuni yesterday."

"I've heard mentions."

"How have you been doing, really?"

"... I'm fine, auntie."

"..."

"..."

"Are you sure about that? War can be-"

"I know, auntie. I'm feeling better now."

"That's good to hear."

"I'm deploying again today."

"Goodness... Stay safe, Kizuna."

"Yes auntie. Bye." Kizuna set down the phone. Taking a deep breath, she left her apartment and began her trip to the staging area. _Let's do this._

* * *

The day after: Day 12

"Sorry for intruding," Akari called out as she entered the blacksmith's work area.

"No, not at all," the sturdy man replied, looking up from his latest work, a katana. "My name is Takanashi Kotobe. What are you here for?"

"Nothing really, just curious how the process works."

"Oho..." His eyes brightened. "Not many ninja care about how we make their precious weapons, and it's always nice to meet a conscientious ninja like yourself. What would you like to know?"

She pondered the question. "What do you feel when you work?"

He scrunched his face up. "That's a tough one. I love pounding the metal into the shape I want, seeing the sparks fly as metal meets metal, and generally love seeing something I've been working on be completed... A sense of accomplishment, if you must." Kotobe laughed. "I tell you, my parents thought I looked smart so they gave me this name. Imagine their surprise when I apprenticed myself to a blacksmith!"

"Mm... Say, have you ever stolen anything when you were younger?"

"Ha! Who hasn't?" he asked rhetorically. "The thrill of taking something without being seen, and the adrenaline that comes whether or not you're being chased... It's a great feeling when you're young, but as you get older..."

"Do go on."

"As you get older, that sort of... pioneering, in a sense, disappears. As you live out life more, you're less willing to sacrifice your own well-being for that thrill. As a child, theft only got you as much as a beating. As an adult, and particularly as a ninja, thefts can result in death."

"What if... Just humor me this. What if by making something in this here smithy, you would be going against the law. Would you do it?"

Kotobe stared at her, the flames of his forge reflecting its light on her face, making it glow red. He pursed his lips. "What are you here for?"

"..." She met his glare head on in silence, daring him to try something. After what seemed like many minutes, she turned away and made to leave.

"Wait!"

Akari stopped.

"Why do you ask me these questions... Why _me_?"

She shook her head. "I can't go any further without a sealed promise from you that whatever is said within this smithy will never leave your mouth."

"Can you at least tell me why you came to talk to me?"

"I've been to three other blacksmiths. You should know them, the most popular smithies in the village. I'm going down the list one by one, but you and several others caught my eye. Unlike the first three, you're not ninja. You do everything more slowly, when no ninja on the battlefield will be able to tell the difference in quality and craftsmanship."

He puffed up. "That's because we take pride in our work. Those namby-pamby ninja that use their _chakra_ to forge shit. We worked and labored for _years_, honing our skills to be able to produce such quality items for the populace and military force. It's the case of the genius and hard worker." After a pause, Kotobe continued, "I don't know what you want. I think I have an idea of why me and my fellow traditional blacksmiths caught your eye. You don't come across as a normal ninja. You take interest in the process of weapons-making and of our reasons behind them. I think you're no enemy of ours, and I agree to speak nothing of which is said in this smithy."

She nodded and made a hand seal. "The agreement is sealed." His tongue prickled. "The moment you break the agreement until such a time as it is agreed that the seal be lifted, your tongue will be cut and I will be notified."

"... Alright."

"You were correct. You traditional smithies are the personification of the age old genius-hard worker comparison. It is exactly because you toil day and night to refine your skills to such a level that I took interest in you. You see, the objects I need made are something extremely complex in comparison to a katana. We begin with neither the prior knowledge of how to build such a weapon nor the materials that go into producing them. If you agree to build them, the process will be long and difficult... Far more difficult than anything you have ever encountered. You may not even be able to complete it in your lifetime."

"Has any of the first three been told of this?"

"Yes. The second. I told him what we wanted built and he refused. He was a ninja through and through, and had no desire to build something that would put them out of business."

"Put them out of business? My curiosity is peaked, but... _we_?"

Akari smiled awkwardly. "That's information you get if you agree to build it. Nothing till then."

"Alright, tell me."

"Better than that, I'll show you."

She took out a pistol and placed it on the table next to her. Intrigued, Kotobe stood up from his seat to look at it, completely forgetting about the metal he'd been working.

"This was found in an archaeological dig, from an ancient civilization. It was sealed in a case that detailed exactly what the name of the weapon was and what ammunition it required. The Colt M1911 pistol. We believe that the 1911 comes from their calendar, on that year."

"What..."

"That's what I'll show you right now. Set up a sheet of metal somewhere and put wooden targets in front of them."

"Right."

…

"Alright." Gripping the pistol, she brought it up to shoulder height and flipped the manual safety and pulled the trigger. With a loud bang, the wooden target exploded into hundreds of splinters, while the steel sheet took the bullet, preventing it from exiting the smithy through the wooden wall. It dented slightly for its efforts. Akari then rapidly pressed the trigger, adjusting her aim after each shot to take down all six remaining wooden targets and turning them into sawdust and splinters. She pressed down on the magazine release. As she brought the pistol down and closer a few inches by bending her arm slightly, and then angling the pistol itself with a small twist of her wrist, she reached for a new magazine, gripped it by the bottom, and in a single smooth motion inserted the magazine into the empty space. The reload and re-cocking took a little over half a second.

Kotobe's eyes bulged. "W-That-How..."

"Smoke bombs... they use gunpowder to explode and scatter smoke, yes? Otherwise smoke would just float straight up or with the wind and couldn't provide ample cover."

"Yeah..."

"Something called a firing pin connected to something called a hammer strikes the primer, which is similar to gunpowder. This lights the primer on fire and the resulting gases from the ignition propel the projectile we call a bullet out of the gun." She knelt and picked up a spent casing. "This is a case. It holds the actual bullet itself along with the primer. As the gases push the bullet out of what is called the barrel – this hole – the gas also pushes the case the opposite way. At the same time, this thing called the slide slides back and that's where the spent casing ejects. The slide then slides back and is ready to fire once more."

"Where-"

"The ancients believed in being prepared. Our language seems to have developed on their world, and though the all-in-one manual packed with the pistols had many different languages, we managed to find ours."

"I see." He looked at the pistol. "With something like this, even the most ordinary person could kill someone... even a ninja."

"That's right. The weapon that can end the ninja profession, to an extent."

"By that... you mean that ninja using this weapon will be even more proficient at killing."

"Mhm."

"..."

"Like I told the other guy, I don't blame you if you don't want to proceed any further." Akari plopped herself down onto his workbench. "It's a terrible weapon, but it's also a necessary one, which is why we're trying to reverse-engineer it."

Kotobe staggered to a chair and slumped into it. "This- this is a lot to take in in a day," he mumbled.

"If you want, I can give you the rest of the day to make up your mind..."

"No." He gathered his strength and stood back up forcefully. "As a human being, it reviles me. As a blacksmith – a true, traditional blacksmith – it calls to me. Before I am human, I am a blacksmith. We gave up so many years to put into our profession. This isn't the time to turn back now. I agree to produce this weapon, one way or another."

"... Are you sure you're not rushing into a decision? You can't back out once you're in. Otherwise, we'll just kill you and find a replacement." Her face expression didn't change at all as she made the threat.

_Saying that so calmly... What is she? _"I won't go back on my word."

She, too, stood. "Alright then. What I said earlier about going in knowing nothing was a bit of white lie, if you think about it. I know how the pistol operates and fires because I told you it came with a manual. The manual has all the specifications for the body, but the people didn't deem it necessary to include what materials and what compositions were required. That is the first obstacle. The second, final, greatest obstacle includes the same problems, but with the ammunition; the bullets."

"It looks like it could take years."

"You have a year to get a prototype of the pistol itself."

"I'll do it in half a year... or less!" Kotobe flexed. "I swear on my pride as a blacksmith!"

She viewed him balefully. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Just do your best. I'll be back in two days with everything you should need. Set your arrangements in order. In two days, you will officially, to the general public, be out of business."

"Got it."

* * *

"Shiba-sama, the prisoner is here."

The princess of the Akasora clan reclined in her favorite chair. "Bring it in," she commanded lazily. The servant bowed deeply and hurried away. She brushed aside some of her short, black hair and pouted. _How boring._ _Why doesn't anything exciting ever happen? _The door reopened, and a cadre of yuki-onna entered the main chamber, surrounding a single human. _A human! _Her interest peaked. _How did a human get so deep into the continent? I must know. _The yuki-onna bowed and retreated to the corners, ready to defend their liege to the death if the prisoner showed any hostile intent. "Welcome," the youkai greeted, "to my humble abode. My name is Akasora Shiba, princess and leader of the Akasora ogre clan. What brings you here, to my lands...?"

"Asakura Hana."

"Thank you. What brings you into our lands, Hana?"

He smiled apologetically. "I didn't come into your land, I was dropped into it."

"Dropped, you say. From the air?" She sat up and clasped her hands together in Gendou-fashion, which will from this point on be termed, the Gendou-style. (Author's note: See Evangelion)

_Should I or shouldn't I...? Too late! _"Dropped from another world."

Silence.

Shiba grinned. "Amusing! You're really blunt, do you know that? I like that! I like that a lot. I'm the most powerful youkai in this country, and you just up and blurt out what you want to say. That takes guts." She motioned with her hand. "Come here."

A little confused, Hana nevertheless walked up to her 'throne' slowly, so as not to provoke the ire of the vicious youkai women surrounding the room.

"You're an interesting one. _Dropped _from another world, you say? You didn't _come _here, but you were _dropped _here. You don't look like you're from the Magic World, and the denizens of the Realm of the Gods don't dress as cheaply as you do." Shiba stood up and walked up to him. Her eyes traveled up and down, sizing him up. Being the same height, she leaned her head forward so that her horn poked him on his own forehead, pricking it and causing it to bleed. "Tell me," she asked seductively, "where are you from?"

_I've come this far, haven't I? I need to get to them as soon as possible... I can't be held up here. At this distance, I won't be able to lie; she'll see through it by examining my subtle movements whenever a human lies... and if I lie, and I'm forced to fight my way out, I'll become a fugitive and it'll become nearly impossible to get to them. _"I'm from Yukigakure. From another, parallel world."

* * *

Day 14

"Hey." Akagan stooped next to his equally crouched Chuunin platoon. "... Their teamwork _sucks_."

The four others nodded seriously. They were camped three hundred feet away from the Genin, and they could hear the pinkette's shouts.

"How far are we from Ihojin?" he asked bluntly.

"Err, we should be there in a few hours," the senior Chuunin informed him. "I suppose it was their Jounin leader that stopped them for a rest before actually entering the mission area."

"He really seems to know his thing," Akagan agreed.

"The mission itself shouldn't be too difficult," the youngest Chuunin said, but continued cautiously, "but we've always been taught to expect the worst-case scenario."

"A good policy." Akagan nodded. "That's probably why I came along."

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking... How strong are you?" the senior asked.

"Call me Akagan or Kanno, whichever suits you. I'd place myself roughly around Kage level."

"Kage level?" the four Chuunin exclaimed simultaneously. "That's hard to believe..."

The brunette shrugged. "It's up to you whether or not you want to believe me, but why else would we be hired on so abruptly?" he finished rhetorically.

"Yeah, that could be right..."

The youngest moved away several feet. "Hey, they're moving again!" called the junior from the treeline.

They all stood, double checking that everything was fine and dandy. "Right, let's get a move on," ordered Akagan. "And let's stay a little closer this time. God knows if their teamwork muddles them we'll probably have to step in."

"Roger.""Roger.""Roger.""Roger."

…

"I'm telling you, she did it on purpose! What kind of Uchiha _stumbles_?" Masataku glared at Mikoto. "Watch your back, bitch."

"Brat."

"Takkun, should we really be fighting right now?"

"... Che..."

Looking at the enmity within the team, Akuto sighed, ruffling his hair absentmindedly. The village was in sight now, and the first of the lookouts had spotted them. In a few minutes, the gate began to open, after having gone up the chain of command within the village's militia.

"Whatever your problems, we're here," announced Akuto. "From now on, I expect everyone to act like a team. As you get older, you'll be put in platoons that are several ninja short, or just mixed around to test chemistry. No matter what happens, a professional ninja is expected to treat each other with professional respect, regardless of your previous disputes. Get it into your heads. Now."

"Yes sir," Masataku and Mikoto mumbled. Akuto could be very forceful when he was in a bad mood.

The remainder of the day was uneventful, and the platoon spent the night at an inn, while Akagan and his platoon camped outside the village temporarily. Akagan and Akuto stayed up, keeping watch, but with the myriad of civilians in the village still moving about, it was extremely difficult trying to find the target via chakra sweeps, like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Miya knew this as she kept her own watch within the village. She considered herself lucky that one of her target's members showed up. His chakra capacity and presence was immense, and the detection of those values were things bred on the daemonic battlefield of their home world. Everyone who managed to survive gained this ability. Though... it was also unlucky in that she could be found out too early. She solemnly bit her lower lip. She had to find a way to infiltrate Honoogakure without a chance of detection. Miya perked up as she felt one of the ninja presences leave the inn through the window, shortly followed by another.

…

"Takkun, we shouldn't be outside," Haruko whimpered. "Akuto-sensei will get mad..."

"Don't be such a wuss, Haruko," Masataku murmured. "I'll prove my superiority by beating that Chuunin on my own!"

"But we're still Genin!"

The pinkette scoffed. "I'm a Haruno and you're an Uzumaki! What have we got to be afraid of?" He towards the market district of the village, followed by Haruko, who continued her pleas.

…

Akagan grimaced. From this distance, it was impossible to sense anything. He waved to the Chuunin platoon, who gathered around him.

"We're moving in closer. At this distance I won't even be able to tell if a battle breaks out."

Trusting his rank of Jounin, the four Chuunin nodded their agreements and packed up quickly. Meanwhile, Akagan pulled a map of the village from one of the packs.

"What we want is the highest point near the center of the village. From there, we will have the shortest, most efficient paths to any possible trouble, while at the same time having an overlooking position and better detection due to the closer proximity." He pointed. "This tower. What is it?"

The youngest stepped forward, volunteering. "That would be clock tower. It's positioned in the epicenter of the village so that most of the village can see the time wherever they are. It's not the tallest tower, but it's the tallest in the area. I grew up in this village before I moved to Honoo to become a ninja."

"Alright. I want you four positioned at these," he began pointing one after another, "raised points. We will divide the village into four quadrants, and we will communicate which quadrant a disturbance is located at using radio squelches. One squelch for quadrant one, et cetera." Nods. "The person stationed at that quadrant goes to check it out. If it's the culprit, you squelch once, long and loud. Everyone then converges on that quadrant and locks it down at each corner and then we will all move in with deliberation. From then on, we will divide that quadrant into four smaller sectors, and then into grids, and we will continue to use established radio-silence procedures to pinpoint the target's location. I will alert the Genin platoon to the situation and direct them towards the perpetrator. Despite being their support, if there is any chance that the perpetrator might attempt to escape the village, apprehend him."

The Chuunin smiled. Despite their misgivings, the man was an experienced tactical thinker.

"Let's go!" the youngest said enthusiastically.

…

"Ah... how boring. We haven't found him yet."

"That's a good thing, Takkun..."

"Why's that?" he demanded. "Our clans have illustrious pasts and special techniques passed down the line, but we can't take a simple Chuunin?"

"We're still Genin though..."

"Che." He turned to stare at her. "If you're too scared, just stay here. I'm going." He set off quickly.

"W-Wait, Takkun!" She hurried after him, hoping to convince him to turn back before it was too late, only to have her arm grabbed and her body pulled into a side alley.

Two minutes later, not hearing anyone behind him, Masataku became the first to know of Haruko's disappearance as he backtracked and found her headband on the ground, having fallen off from the force with which she had been pulled into the darkness.

"Haruko..." he murmured, a horrified expression on his face. "... _Shit!_"

…

Three squelches sounded through the wireless net.

_Alright. Now, we wait._

Long minutes passed when a long squelch sounded. At the signal, everyone began to converge towards the third quadrant, the south-western portion of the village, while Akagan Shunshin'd into the Jounin-sensei's room. The man was not the least surprised by his sudden entrance.

"You've found him already?"

"Supposedly." Two squelches sounded. "He should be here," he pointed at a map he'd taken out. "North-Eastern sector of the South-Western quadrant."

Akuto nodded. "I would get my team, but..."

"... But?" asked the brunette, his eyebrow raised questioningly.

"It seems they've all gone off on their own." Akuto sighed. "I'm ashamed."

A crackle of static caused Akagan to wince. "The pink-haired Genin has engaged the Chuunin at Quadrant 3, Sector 3, Grid 2. No sign of the others."

"Keep a fucking eye on him!" the brunette snarled. _I knew this would happen. _He _knew this would happen. That fucking cyclops playing his little games. _He turned. "Your little firecracker is fighting. On his own."

Akuto swore violently and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, with Akagan soon following.

…

"WHERE'S HARUKO?" Masataku roared, swinging his right fist. The former Kumo Chuunin dodged, and Masataku leveled the lamp post, bending it almost perpendicularly.

"Stupid little Genin," the man growled. "Where are your brains, with all that brute strength? Wandering out on your own? Pathetic!" He spat at the ground. "You think just because you're some kid from some famous clan that you can do anything?" He glanced warily at the lamp post. _Though... I'd better stay out of his reach._

In a burst of speed and anger, Masataku sped into a chakra-enhanced charge, his right fist reared back.

The Chuunin took a defensive pose in response, standing sideways towards Masataku so as to provide a smaller silhouette. He then deftly brought up his right hand, caught the pinkette's wrist, and flicked his arm, sending Masataku flying into the building behind him.

"You haven't even grasped the ninja rules yet, and you're trying to fight a Chuunin... bragging you're as good as one? Ninja rule 25: A ninja must never show tears."

"I know that rule!" Masataku snarled, getting up.

"You don't. What that rule means is that you can't let emotions get in the way of your mission. Doing so will endanger you _and_ your village. Honoo was once the greatest ninja village in all the lands, but looking at you, I can now believe why they say Honoo's time is over. Furthermore, _your_ time is over."

The Chuunin burst forward, kunai out, as fast as he could go before the monstrously powerful Genin could take another swipe at him. For a moment, Masataku's life flashed before his eyes. Until she came crashing down from the roof, katana drawn.

Mikoto thrust forward. The Chuunin managed to swerve his step and avoid being skewered, but took a gash in the side due to the katana's longer reach.

"U-Uchiha!"

"..." She glared at him, her disapproval obvious.

"Haruko, she... she..."

"She's there."

"Huh?" Masataku looked up and spotted the blonde waving. "How-"

"I followed your sorry ass trail and found you kicking up a storm trying to find her. You ran in without thinking, when all you had to do was follow the trail her tears made."

"How do you expect me to see a trail of tears?" asked the pinkette in exasperation. Unlike you, I don't have a doujutsu."

"Doujutsu?"

Mikoto turned, switching her glare's target to the Kumo Chuunin. At a command, her eyes changed colors to red, becoming a pair of mature, three-tomoe Sharingan. "You're outnumbered," she stated plainly.

"But am I outmatched?" he countered.

"You are." Akuto and Akagan, along with the Chuunin platoon, made their appearance from their hiding places. "Furthermore, Uchiha Mikoto used to be in a platoon set to pass the Chuunin Exams when she was pulled and placed into this one."

"Hhh... Impressive..." The Chuunin reached back for his pack quickly. _I hadn't expected to use this so early, but the catch... There is no other way! For Kumo!_ "But not as impressive as _THIS_!" He unfurled the scroll he withdrew from his pack. On it were the many complex markings of a high-level sealing.

Sensing danger, Akuto Shunshin'd to ground level and rushed the ninja, while Akagan flickered within three feet of the Chuunin on the opposite side, palms splayed, but before he could strike a crippling blow-

"BEHOLD!" he screamed, managing to spread the blood from his gash on the scroll before suffering a debilitating chest strike. Amazingly, he managed to remain standing and continue his tirade through force of will. "THE ULTIMATE SCROLL TAKEN FROM THE SECRET ARCHIVES OF KUMOGAKURE AND ENTRUSTED TO ME BY THE VILLAGE ELDERS! THE ABILITY OF THE KAMUI, SEALED FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS! MY MISSION IS A SUCCESS! I'LL TAKE YOU ALL WITH ME, TO HELL! MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN: KAMUI!"

"NO!" Akuto yelled, unable to stop himself from entering the beginnings of the technique through momentum. _How can this be... My great-grandfather's greatest technique... _He found himself rooted to the ground. The spatial distortion was restricting movement in direct relation to its ferocity. At the center of the vortex, the Chuunin was ripped apart and the scroll, damaged. With it, the entire area began to pull into the center; into oblivion.

The horror and tragedy of the other world struck Akagan, and he made his decision. He'd never expected a mere Chuunin to utilize such a destructive technique using a suicidal method. However, he couldn't allow another calamity to occur. So many lives had been ended; so many hopes, crushed; so many bright souls, dulled and tarnished... Minato had to know what had happened to him. There _had_ to be survivors. He braced himself, sending immense energies to his eyes. _Mangekyou Sharingan: Toujo!_ He scaled back time around the Chuunin platoon and Haruko, who were at the outskirts of Kamui's influence, giving them the precious moments needed to escape. Haruko attempted to follow her platoon, but was quickly stopped and pulled back by one of the Chuunin.

One by one, the spatial vortex consumed the ones remaining. Akuto, Mikoto and Masataku. Akagan stared around. It hadn't been possible to save himself; He, who had been the closest to the vortex's centroid. To begin with, Toujo was an ability not originally his, and so he could only exercise a fraction of its true capabilities. Currently, he was using all his power and will to stay as long as he could within this realm.

"Tell him!" he shouted. "Tell him what happened! Tell him to continue what's been started and not to worry about me!" Even from within the distortion, he could see the youngest Chuunin nod frantically. For a second, he felt a frantic emotion from beyond. He used Toujo to calm the distortion slightly, and saw her. Her turquoise eyes widened, realizing she'd been seen. He could feel it. The Sharingan was the result of a curse on their ancestors... a curse carried out by daemons. He could feel her connection with their greatest enemy, but he no longer had the strength to say more. Before he was completely swallowed up by the vortex, he slowly raised his arm, pointing at her.

And then he too was gone.

The youngest Chuunin, the most easily impressible due to his young age and thus, attracted to experience and authority to guide the way, traced what had been his superior's final action, and found her.

Miya raised her arms slowly, palms open, to convince them she had no ill intentions. Nevertheless, the four Chuunin took no chances and sent a messenger hawk back to the village asking for a platoon of Jounin as reinforcements. She grimaced. She'd lost one target. Fortunately, the expression on the man's face showed it all. She'd forgotten the man's connection to daemons. This had turned into the best possible situation. She would be taken 'captive' to Honoogakure to be debriefed, where she would meet _that man_. And the one man that could have possibly hindered her was now gone.

Miya smiled at the turned backs of the still inexperienced Chuunin. All was going as she wanted it.

* * *

Toujo (Reverse Chronological Order (Time Reverse)) – Unique, S-Rank – An ability of the highest order of the Mangekyou Sharingan that allows the user to scale back time. The mechanics are not fully understood by any party and are accepted as it is for what it does. The ability has a second feature; the ability to stop time. Both abilities are extremely dangerous to utilize. By interfering with the space-time continuum and by extension going against the laws of nature, a huge toll of chakra is charged that can only be met by those with chakra capacities matching and exceeding those of the strongest jinchuuriki.

Kamui (Might of the Gods) – Unique, S-Rank – An ability of the Mangekyou Sharingan unique to that of Hatake Kakashi of Konoha that distorts existing space and drawing mass into the center of a micro-black hole, transporting said mass to another dimension. Unlike Toujo, as Kamui is merely altering the space, it takes less chakra to perform, though the inception and culmination of the black hole is the greatest draw of chakra from this ability.


End file.
